The following is being distributed at the request of Marine Atlantic:

Sir Robert Bond resumes service

Marine Atlantic's MV Sir Robert Bond departed Goose Bay early this morning (Wednesday), following a delay of nearly 60 hours caused by hydraulic problems with steering gear.

The difficulty proved extremely challenging, and required over two days strenuous effort including replacement of numerous parts and draining and replacement of hydraulic fluid before a satisfactory result was achieved.

The ship sailed at 0300 today, and is expected to arrive at Cartwright early this afternoon. She should dock at Lewisporte late Thursday afternoon, and sail that evening on the return trip to Goose Bay.

"We will attempt to get the ship back on schedule over the next week or so, by keeping port time as short as possible," says John Baker, general manager of coastal services. "In this way we hope to keep inconvenience to our customers to a minimum."

The Sir Robert Bond's schedule will remain somewhat flexible over the next few sailings, in order to take advantage of every opportunity to regain lost time. Passengers are urged to keep in close touch with Marine Atlantic, to ensure that they have the latest sailing information.

Contact: Ted Bartlett, Director Public Relations, (506) 851-3611; or (709) 772-5731.