The notice was posted on the Société des Traversiers du Québec (STQ) website and social media at approximately 4:50 a.m. this morning.
Due to an emergency situation, all departures have been canceled until further notice, it said.
The STQ spokesman, Bruno Verreault, explained in an email that it was a broken generator on the NM Lomer-Gouin.
The only ship operating the connection is moored at the quay in Lévis.
It is not known how long it will take to repair the damage and when operations will resume.
Groundhog Day
For users of the ferry between Quebec and Lévis, it’s a bit like Groundhog Day. Anyone who takes it regularly is not surprised and remembers the frequency of performance failures in recent years. Such is the case of Philippe Roy, who parks his car on the south bank and takes the ferry to work on the north bank. He does it because it is good for his health, but also to avoid traffic jams at the bridgeheads.
It’s always scrap, no staff, broken boat, boat gone to Isle-aux-Coudres. It’s like doing a little bit the norm, he laments.
It’s annoying [mon horaire] because I work on the other side I have to take my car and cross, adds Réal Pelletier, another ferry trustee who met at the Lévis river station on Tuesday morning.