The HSC Max Mols

Marine Atlantic, its predecessor CN Marine, and pre-confederation Newfoundland coastal boats have a strong and proud history serving the people of Atlantic Canada through ferry terminals, passenger vessels and rail service.

In this week’s blog posting we highlight the HSC Max Mols that serviced the Port aux Basques-North Sydney crossing during the summer of 2000.

Introduced on charter during the summer of 2000 to evaluate whether a high speed catamaran vessel was suitable for the Cabot Strait crossing, the vessel could travel at speeds of up to 48 knots. With the ability to carry 780 passengers and 200 cars, the 5617 tonne vessel helped increase capacity during the summer period. Scheduled to be in service for one summer in advance of the arrival of the MV Leif Ericson to the service, the HSC Max Mols wasn’t popular with many customers who complained of seasickness due to the increased speeds and movement during the crossing, as well as the vessel’s unsuitability to environmental conditions in the Cabot Strait.