Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canada-U.S. Ferry Service Proposes Moving From Portland To Bar Harbor

Darpan News Desk, 13 Jul, 2018 12:47 PM
    HALIFAX — An international ferry service that links Canada with the United States could move to a new port in Maine, a change that could see Nova Scotia paying for upgrades to an American town's ferry docking facilities.
     
     
    The service, operated by Bay Ferries Ltd., already receives an annual operating subsidy from the province of about $10 million.
     
     
    In a proposal submitted Thursday to the town of Bar Harbor in Maine, Bay Ferries has offered to lease a portion of the scenic town's ferry terminal to use as the U.S. port for its high-speed catamaran ferry service.
     
     
    Bar Harbor town manager Cornell Knight confirmed receiving the proposal, which was sent out to the town's council ahead of next Tuesday's meeting.
     
     
    The proposal comes a month after Bar Harbor residents voted to purchase the town's shuttered ferry terminal from the state for $3.5 million.
     
     
    "The company has previously said they would invest $3 million into the property in order to get it into shape for them to operate next year," Knight said.
     
     
    In fact, it would be Nova Scotia that would cover the bill to upgrade the ferry facilities, a cost the province's transportation minister appeared prepared to consider.
     
     
    "There will be a cost, we're pretty confident of that," Lloyd Hines told reporters after a cabinet meeting. "I'm open to it ... but at the end of the day, it's a decision that will be taken based on the business inputs that are provided by the operator."
     
     
    Hines said "at first blush" moving to Bar Harbor seems to be a good proposal. It's closer to Yarmouth, which could cut down on fuel and crew costs, he said.
     
     
    In addition, Hines said there may be an "opportunity" to pull visitors from Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor, which attracts about 3.5 million visitors a year.
     
     
    Bay Ferries CEO Mark MacDonald said the ferry service could commence operations in Bar Harbor as early as next season. But he said the proposal is still in the preliminary stages.
     
     
    "What we're suggesting, between now and Oct. 1, is for all the parties to do their due diligence ... to do background work and determine whether this is feasible," MacDonald said.
     
     
    Before 2009, the ferry service between Nova Scotia and Maine operated out of both Portland and Bar Harbor.
     
     
    However, a cut to the service's operating subsidy prompted Bay Ferries to end the service in 2009. 
     
     
    After the province decided to reinstate the subsidy, the passenger ferry service resumed under Nova Star Cruises in 2014, travelling between Yarmouth and Portland before Bay Ferries took over the route in 2016.
     
     
    Marla MacInnis, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Department, said the provincial subsidy for the 2018 sailing season is expected to be $10.9 million.
     
     
    "It's an increase of $1.5 million over the budgeted subsidy for 2017," she said in an email.
     
     
    "Rising fuel costs account for a large portion of the $1.5 million increase in the subsidy as well as revised revenue projections to reflect steady growth."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Former B.C. Mountie Who Killed Herself Was Agent For Change Within 'Toxic' Force

    Former B.C. Mountie Who Killed Herself Was Agent For Change Within 'Toxic' Force
    VANCOUVER — Former RCMP officers who suffered harassment and bullying on the job are grieving the suicide of an ex-Mountie who advocated for change within the force they say ruined so many lives.

    Former B.C. Mountie Who Killed Herself Was Agent For Change Within 'Toxic' Force

    Ship That Carried Hundreds Of Tamil Migrants To Canada Full Of Toxins: Documents

    Ship That Carried Hundreds Of Tamil Migrants To Canada Full Of Toxins: Documents
    The MV Sun Sea carried nearly 500 Tamil migrants to Canada eight years ago, but now the rusting cargo ship sits forlornly on the B.C. coast — an unwanted vessel of toxins including asbestos, PCBs and mould, documents reveal.  

    Ship That Carried Hundreds Of Tamil Migrants To Canada Full Of Toxins: Documents

    Western Canada Transportation Ministers To Discuss Greyhound Departure

    Western Canada Transportation Ministers To Discuss Greyhound Departure
    British Columbia's transportation minister says she will speak with her western Canadian counterparts on Thursday to discuss Greyhound's plan to end bus service in the region this fall.  

    Western Canada Transportation Ministers To Discuss Greyhound Departure

    Two Men Arrested As Coquitlam RCMP Take Down Suspected Drug Lab

    Coquitlam RCMP’s Drugs and Organized Crime section has arrested two men and dismantled a suspected synthetic opioid lab.

    Two Men Arrested As Coquitlam RCMP Take Down Suspected Drug Lab

    Corpse Flower Set To Unleash Putrid Scent At Vancouver Conservatory

    Corpse Flower Set To Unleash Putrid Scent At Vancouver Conservatory
    A rare, exotic tropical plant known as a corpse flower is set to unleash its putrid scent inside the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver.

    Corpse Flower Set To Unleash Putrid Scent At Vancouver Conservatory

    Develop Funding Plan To Help Greyhound, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh Urges Trudeau

    Develop Funding Plan To Help Greyhound, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh Urges Trudeau
    OTTAWA — The federal NDP is urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to develop a funding plan that would preserve Greyhound Canada's bus routes in northern communities.

    Develop Funding Plan To Help Greyhound, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh Urges Trudeau