CN Marine began the process of planning the design with German & Milne for a replacement of MV Abegweit, a vessel which entered service in 1947.

This permitted German & Milne to depart from traditional vessel design by eliminating the need for a conventional hull and bow.

The new MV Abegweit was a much larger and more capable vessel - the largest on the Northumberland Strait service and she became the flagship of this route.

MV Abegweit was used as a cargo vessel to haul Marine Atlantic equipment located at Borden and Cape Tormentine to the corporation's dock and storage facilities at North Sydney, Nova Scotia to be used on its Cabot Strait service.

MV Abegweit then laid up at the Sydport Industrial Park at Point Edward, Nova Scotia on the west shore of Sydney Harbour and was placed for sale.

MV Abegweit languished for two years without moving at Sydport before being sold in July 1999 to a firm named "Accrued Investments Inc." in Houston, Texas.

To burn off the fuel still onboard from her days at Marine Atlantic, some of which was topped off by Accrued Investments, the ship was operated at reduced speed on two engines.