PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ The Nova Scotia government has entered into talks with a new operator to take over the ferry run between Yarmouth and Portland, Maine.
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In a release Thursday afternoon, transportation minister Geoff MacLellan said the government is “ready to officially enter into negotiations on contract details” with Bay Ferries.
Beginning with the 2006 and continuing into the 2007 operating seasons, the Nova Scotia government provided an annual $1.5 million subsidy to Bay Ferries to offset declining passenger revenue and increased fuel expenditures.
The ferry service was resurrected in 2014, this time under operator Nova Star Cruises. The company now operates the ferry service between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
“Mark MacDonald and Bay Ferries really get this”, MacLellan said of the Portland-to-Nova Scotia service, which is considered crucial to the province’s tourism industry. The company and provincial officials said they would not provide further details on the route or contract until negotiations are complete.
In 2009, however, Bay Ferries scratched the Cat crossings after the NDP government of the day balked at paying a reported $5.56-million subsidy to keep the service going.
Last month, CEO Mark Amundsen told the legislature’s economic development committee that Nova Star would need another three years to become financially viable. Nova Star Cruises declined additional comment.
MacDonald in a statement said he’s pleased the province has selected his company. MacLellan wouldn’t reveal who the others were, but besides Bay Ferries, they included Nova Star, a group headed by well-known Yarmouth businessman Keith Condon and an unknown group.
The luxury ferry service had missed passenger total goals for both seasons, with fewer than 60,000 passengers after setting a goal of 100,000 in its first season and a goal of 80,000 passengers in its second season. The trip from Canada to Maine was the company’s only route. MacLellan said Bay ferries “came out the very clear and best option through that process”.
“That’s up to Bay Ferries”, he said.
The company operates the Digby-to-Saint John, N.B., ferry year round, and its sister company, Northumberland Ferries Ltd.
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“We would like to thank the people of Nova Scotia for their support over the past two years, and we will work with the Province of Nova Scotia toward a smooth transition to the 2016 operating season”, the company said.
