A famous, former Bay of Fundy ferry now lies shipwrecked off the coast of Panama, without any insurance to help take it out of the water.
The 54-meter long MV Grand Manan was purchased in 2011 from Coastal Transport by Austrian Fritz Breckner, to be operated in Panama. The ship was renamed the San Blas Ferry to reflect this.
Breckner told
CBC News that he had purchased the ship for $200,000, hoping to offer an expanded car and passenger service to and fro between Panama and Colombia.
"I really was lucky to get it," Breckner said. "When I bought it, it was an absolute gift, it was an absolute great boat in very good shape; very nice machinery. It was my first boat of this size — and my last."
He shared that he had invested about $800,000 in his ferry business, but Panama’s government refused to issue him the necessary permits. Thus, Breckner ended up living on the ship while looking for other ways to put it to good use.
The day when Breckner would find another use for the San Blas would never come, as the ship met its untimely end—ironically while towing another of Breckner’s ships, which also ran aground.
On July 17, while towing the 16-metre catamaran ferry Jaqueline, the former MV Grand Manan sustained severe damage.
"As I was getting close, my left engine stalled," Breckner recounted. "I wanted to do a right turn, and without the left engine I can't do a right turn on this boat. So I had to wait three-and-a-half minutes until the mechanic got the engine started again … but the seas we had were pushing the boat on the rocks."
Thankfully, there were no injuries, but the ferry now rests on the very rocks it ran aground on, with its engines and generator completely submerged in water. Breckner also confirmed that the boat’s hull was grievously breached.
The iconic boat will likely remain where it is for years to come, as Breckner admitted that he has no insurance on it.
"I lost this year, in total, three boats," he said. "Two because of the stupidity of my captain and myself and one because of the stupidity of my lawyer."
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