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Nova Scotia Hopes to Keep Maine Ferry

December 28, 2009 - PORTLAND -- Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter may be willing to subsidize ferry service between Maine and Nova Scotia, but he won't give any more money to The Cat, Dexter's press secretary said Wednesday.

A federally funded study on southwest Nova Scotia's transportation options, including ferry service, is scheduled to be completed in March. Dexter will ask the Canadian government to put the study on the fast track so it can be delivered to him in January, press secretary Jennifer Stewart said in a telephone interview.

"We are looking at the best option for replacing The Cat ferry service, and that is going to come from the study," she said.

Since 2005, the province has invested $21 million in ferry service between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and Bar Harbor and Portland. Stewart said The Cat is not a sustainable service and is not a good investment.

Last week, Bay Ferries Ltd. announced that the loss of the subsidy had forced it to end the service. Last year, it received $5.65 million from the government to help it offset higher fuel prices and lower passenger numbers.

The Cat is a high-speed catamaran. Yarmouth officials and business leaders believe that a traditional, single-hull ferry has a better chance for success because it would be more fuel-efficient and have more room to carry trucks. The Cat does not carry trucks. A delegation of officials and business leaders met with Dexter on Wednesday morning. The delegation urged the premier to fund The Cat for one more summer to give it time to recruit another vessel.

Julie Walters, a tourism development officer in Yarmouth who attended the meeting, said that Dexter's plan is not helpful because it won't leave enough time to find another vessel.

She said The Cat must operate next summer to keep the U.S. market engaged in Nova Scotia, and to sustain service businesses in Yarmouth. For example, two hotels have said they will have to close if there is no ferry service to Yarmouth.

"We need a new vessel. There is not time to find a new vessel between now and May 15. We need to keep this link alive," she said. "This is not good news, and it really is not acceptable news."

She said Yarmouth officials are gathering support from around the province and will continue putting pressure on Dexter to reconsider.

By TOM BELL, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, December 24, 2009

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