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July 8, 2013

Three cos. vie for Nova Scotia ferry service

Via Wikimedia Commons This 2005 photo shows The CAT, a high-speed ferry operated between Portland and Nova Scotia by Bay Ferries Ltd. from 2006 to 2009.

Three companies have submitted bids to restart a ferry service to Nova Scotia, but provincial officials say the plan won't necessarily connect to Portland as its two predecessor services did.

The Bangor Daily News reported Tina Thibeau, a spokeswoman for the province, told the paper the Portland-to-Yarmouth, Nova Scotia route is not certain, but declined to elaborate on the three latest proposals.

The companies competing for a seven-year, $21-million provincial subsidy to restart the service are Balearia Caribbean Ltd., the Dover, England-based P&O Ferries and a partnership between the Eliot, Maine-based Quest Navigation, ST Marine Ltd. and International Shipping Partners.

Quest, which participated in the previous round of bids in a partnership with a different ferry operator, told the paper that its proposal would connect with Portland.

In March, the Baltimore-based Maritime Applied Physics Corp., which has an office in Brunswick, submitted a first-round proposal for a high-speed hydrofoil ferry. It did not submit a proposal this time because the province is seeking a slower ferry on the model of the former Scotia Prince, according to a spokesman.

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