MV ''Blue Puttees'' (ex-''Stena Trader'') is a

Ro-Pax Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

passenger/vehicle

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

operated by

Marine Atlantic Marine Atlantic Inc. () is an independent Canadian federal Crown corporation which is mandated to operate ferry services between the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. Marine Atlantic's corporate headquarters are in St. John ...

between the islands of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

and

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

in eastern Canada. She is named after the nickname of the

Royal Newfoundland Regiment The Royal Newfoundland Regiment (R NFLD R) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. Predecessor units trace their origins to 1795, and since 1949 Royal ...

. Largely built in Russia, her assembly was finished in Norway. As part of

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish Shipping line, shipping line company and one of the world's largest ferry operators. It services Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden. Stena Line is a ...

she regularly ran between The Netherlands and the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2009. After being leased by Marine Atlantic, she was taken to Bremerhaven, Germany to be converted so as to better suit the

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

Channel-Port aux Basques Channel-Port aux Basques is a town at the extreme southwestern tip of Newfoundland fronting on the western end of the Cabot Strait. A Marine Atlantic ferry terminal is located in the town which is the primary entry point onto the island of Newf ...

route, which she would be taking over. This conversion included the addition of a third

bow thruster Manoeuvering thrusters (bow thrusters and stern thrusters) are transversal propulsion devices built into or mounted to either the Bow (watercraft), bow or stern (front or back, respectively) of a ship or boat to make it more manoeuvrable. Bow th ...

, increase and renovation of the passenger areas, and shortening of the vessel by 12m to help facilitate docking at Channel-Port aux Basques. She entered regular passenger service with Marine Atlantic in early March 2011. Her nearly identical

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

followed her into service a few weeks later. In May 2015, Marine Atlantic announced that it had purchased both vessels from Stena for

Can$ The Canadian dollar (currency symbol, symbol: $; ISO 4217, code: CAD; ) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $. There is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviations Can$, CA$ and C$ are frequently used f ...

100 million each.

Incidents and accidents

On July 31, 2013, ''Blue Puttees'' ran aground after missing a turn in the harbour of Port aux Basques. The vessel managed to free herself at high tide. Following an underwater inspection, it was discovered that ''Blue Puttees'' had suffered damage to her

bulbous bow A bulbous bow is a streamlined flaring or protruding bulb at the bow (or front) of a ship just below the waterline. The flare or bulb modifies the way the water flows around the hull, reducing drag and thus increasing speed, range, fuel effici ...

, and would have to be taken out of service to allow repairs to take place at a

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

in Halifax. She was returned to service on August 20, 2013.

References

External links

MV ''Blue Puttees'' aground in Port aux Basques harbour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Puttees 2005 ships Ferries of Newfoundland and Labrador Ferries of Nova Scotia Marine Atlantic Ships built at the Baltic Shipyard Ships built in Rissa, Norway