CAT ferry to Nova Scotia scrapped
The CAT, a seasonal high-speed ferry service between Maine and Nova Scotia, will not return next year.
Bay Ferries Ltd., the Prince Edward Island-based company that runs the ferry, announced today in a statement that the service will cease following news that the government of Nova Scotia would not continue to provide a subsidy. Reports from CBC News in Toronto and the Yarmouth County Vanguard said the company wanted between $6 million and $7 million in funding. Since 2007, Nova Scotia has put $18.9 million into the ferry service as it struggled under high fuel prices and a drop in passengers. Approximately 120 full- and part-time employees will lose their jobs, according to the Vanguard, but it was unclear whether any of those employees were in Maine.
Patricia Eltman, director of the Maine Office of Tourism, said her office was "a little stunned" and "very sad" to hear the news, and called Bay Ferries "a great tourism partner." She said her office planned to assemble a team to evaluate what the impact will be on Portland and Bar Harbor, and also address the loss of the ferry as it finalizes its spring and summer marketing campaign.
The ferry, which began in 1997, operated from Portland and Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, N.S. from May to October. The number of passengers on the ferry dropped 10% this year over 2008, according to the Vanguard. The news comes two weeks after Montreal-based Starlink Aviation announced it would suspend its flight from Portland to Nova Scotia due to a lack of funding.
Go to the article from CBC News >>
Go to the article from the Yarmouth County Vanguard >>
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