Nova Scotia's minister of transportation says the crash on the Englishtown ferry in Cape Breton last week was an unfortunate accident, but the ferry was up to safety standards.

Jerry Hengeveld, 81, drove off the Englishtown ferry into the icy waters of St. Anns Bay in Cape Breton last Monday.

His body and car were pulled from the water on Tuesday.

Police said an autopsy and a mechanical inspection of the car will be carried out.

Maurice Smith said his department has done its own internal investigation, which included an inspection of the ferry and a review of safety procedures.

"It meets the Transport Canada safety standards and there was no damage done to the ferry at the time. So the internal investigation just indicated that we have no safety concerns, no concerns of any kind at all," he said.

Smith said the ferry has been cleared to return to service.

It runs across St. Anns Harbour connected to an underwater cable. It provides a shortcut to the Cabot Trail in northern Cape Breton.