Oceanex Shipping Company, which runs weekly freight services, which include food and medicine, from Montreal and Halifax to St. John’s — says it is losing millions a week due to a drop in volumes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Oceanex has asked for a subsidy to offset its $2 million weekly losses until at least September. Oceanex delivers 50 per cent of all freight to Newfoundland, and 75 per cent of all goods to the more heavily populated St. John’s area on the northeast Avalon Peninsula. If Oceanex shuts down, it would create an immediate food security and public safety crisis in the province.
