Ferry crossings between N.S. and P.E.I. cancelled Saturday and early Sunday

Anyone coming to or leaving Prince Edward Island on Saturday or early Sunday will need to take the Confederation Bridge or an airplane.

The ferry between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia, the M.V. Confederation, is experiencing "technical difficulties" again, and all crossings for June 17 arecancelled, according to a news release by Northumberland Ferries Ltd.

Later Saturday afternoon, the ferry operator announcedSunday's7 a.m. crossing leaving Wood Islands, P.E.I.,and the 8:30 a.m.crossing leaving Caribou, N.S., have also been cancelled.

Mark Wilson, senior vice-president of Northumberland Ferries Ltd., said engineering teams are working to fix the issue.

"We are experiencing some mechanical difficulties with part of the port engine connection to the central gear box," he said in an email.

"It is not serious as it involves the replacement of a part.We are not sure how long it will take to replace the part and will be out of service for the remainder of today.We will have a better idea on the length of the out of service later this afternoon.We are doing everything we can to rectify this as soon as possible."

It's the second time this month crossings have been cancelled due to technical difficulties. The issues are not related, Wilson said.

The Confederation is the only ferry currently in operation between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. MV Holiday Island was put out of service permanently after a fire onboard last July.

• MV Saaremaa 1 will return to service between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia this summer

MV Saaremaa 1, on loan from Quebec, replaced the Holiday Island last summer, and is scheduled to do the same during the peak tourism season this summer.