M/V William Carson was a CN Marine

CN Marine

CN Marine was a Canadian ferry company headquartered in Moncton, New Brunswick.-History:CN Marine was created by parent Canadian National Railway in 1977 as a means to group the company's ferry operations in eastern Canada into a separate operating division...

 passenger/vehicle icebreaker

Icebreaker

An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...

 ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 named in honour of Newfoundland colonial politician William Carson

William Carson

Sir William Carson , often called "The Great Reformer", was an important doctor and businessman in Newfoundland. Carson's primary contribution to Newfoundland was the application of modern agricultural principles....

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Built by Canadian Vickers Ltd

Vickers

Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...

. in Montreal, Quebec, the William Carson measured 351 feet (107 m) in length and displaced 8,300 tons. Primarily a freight/cargo ferry, she had a capacity for 260 passengers and 60 cars which were loaded through a side ramp.

Designed for service between Port aux Basques

Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador

Channel-Port aux Basques is a town at the extreme southwestern tip of the island of Newfoundland fronting on the eastern end of the Cabot Strait. A Marine Atlantic ferry terminal is located in the town which is the primary entry point onto the island of Newfoundland and the western terminus of...

 and North Sydney

North Sydney, Nova Scotia

North Sydney is a community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.Located on the north side of Sydney Harbour, along the eastern coast of Cape Breton Island, North Sydney is an important port in Atlantic Canada as it is the western terminus of the Marine Atlantic ferry service...

, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

 by Canadian National Railways, she was commissioned in 1955. One of the largest vessels built in Canada at the time, her immense size forced her to use the more spacious harbour at Argentia

Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador

Argentia is a community on the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on a flat headland located along the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula on Placentia Bay...

 for her first three years in service while the Port aux Basques harbour was modified to accept her.

The William Carson was reassigned to the seasonal Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

 coastal service in 1976, operating between Lewisporte

Lewisporte, Newfoundland and Labrador

Lewisporte is a town in central Newfoundland Island, Canada, with a population of 3,312. It is situated in a bay close to the mouth of the Exploits River. Lewisporte has an excellent port and related facilities that serve the many communities along Notre Dame Bay. Gander and its international...

 and Happy Valley-Goose Bay

Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

Happy Valley – Goose Bay is a Canadian town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.Located in the central part of Labrador, the town is the largest population centre in that region. Incorporated in 1973, the town composes the former town of Happy Valley and the Local Improvement District of...

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Sinking

Early in her second season, she sank in 500 feet (150 m) of water on the night of June 2 / morning of June 3, 1977 after striking a small iceberg

Iceberg

An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...

 while navigating 12 nautical mile

Nautical mile

The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...

s (22 km) off Battle Harbour

Battle Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador

Battle Harbour is a 19th century summer fishing station, formerly a permanent settlement, located on the Labrador coast in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Battle Harbour was for two centuries the economic and social centre of the southeastern Labrador coast...

. She was carrying 129 passengers and 29 crew at the time of her sinking; all survived.

The evacuation was carried out efficiently and passengers and crew waited in lifeboats in the icefield while watching their ship sink. Canadian Coast Guard

Canadian Coast Guard

The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...

 icebreakers and Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces Air Command

The Royal Canadian Air Force , formerly Canadian Forces Air Command, is one of three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

helicopters were dispatched to rescue the survivors.