After suffering a serious fire, the ship was broken up for scrap in 2023 The roll-on/roll-off ferry[1] was ordered for construction by the Government of Canada and the vessel's keel was laid down at Port Weller Dry Docks in St. Catharines, Ontario, in April 1970.

[2] The ship was launched with the name William Pope on 28 June 1970 and later renamed Holiday Island to reflect the vessel's purpose, which was to augment transportation services for summer tourists.

[4] The ship was ordered as a result of increased tourist traffic to Prince Edward Island and the vessel's open decks allowed for the storage of more vehicles.

[4] The opening of the Confederation Bridge on 1 June 1997 saw Marine Atlantic close its ferry services to Prince Edward Island, and all of its vessels on this route except Holiday Island were sold off by the Crown Assets division of the Department of Public Works and Government Services.

In 2016, Holiday Island was removed from service and sent to a shipyard in Quebec so that necessary repairs could be made after significant corrosion was found in the ballast tanks.

[14] As a result of the fire, it was determined that the ship was damaged beyond repair and Transport Canada issued a request for proposals to dispose of the ferry.

[15] Holiday Island was scrapped in 2023 after the contract was awarded to R.J. MacIsaac Construction in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia.