CTMA general manager Emmanuel Aucoin told CFIM that SUPERSTAR II should arrive at Cap-aux-Meules at the beginning of December. This gives the crews time to get to know the ship before MADELEINE II is withdrawn for her scheduled docking in January. SUPERSTAR II is wider and taller than MADELEINE II, which will require some adaptation in manoeuvring and port operations, and her onboard signage must be translated to meet Canadian federal safety rules.

CTMA applied to the Canadian Transportation Agency in September for a temporary licence to operate the foreign ship in Canadian coastal waters, after finding that no suitable vessel was available in Canada. The crossing between the Magdalen Islands and Prince Edward Island takes about five hours in the Gulf of St Lawrence, and CTMA said it needed a closed-deck ship with proper passenger accommodation.

SUPERSTAR II was delivered in 1985 as PEDER PAARS to the then Danish state-owned operator DSB Rederi, sailed as COLOR VIKING for Color Line from 2000 and was bought by Seajets in 2022. She was refurbished in 2023 for service in the Greek islands under the Cypriot flag. CTMA says it is still looking for a permanent solution for future dockings of MADELEINE II.

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