Proud of our History - the Caribou

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.

Named in honour of the original SS Caribou that was lost during World War II, the vessel could carry upwards of 1000 passengers per trip and hundreds of passenger and commercial vehicles. At the time the Caribou entered service it was the largest ferry ever built in Canada, significantly increased capacity and transformed passenger and freight ferry travel to and from Newfoundland.

During its 24 years of service, it is estimated that the Caribou made over 16,000 trips, carried approximately three million passengers and over two million vehicles between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

As always, we welcome your photos for posting in a future blog. Please email your photos to [email protected] including any facts such as the date and location.

In next week’s blog posting, we highlight the SS Northern Ranger that serviced coastal Newfoundland and Labrador communities from 1936-1966.