THE CAT

Bay Ferries satisfied with first season

Hi-speedBay Ferries, operator of the passenger and vehicle service from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, to Portland, Maine, finished a first season with far fewer passengers than its route predecessor, but says it’s in better financial shape, chairman Mark MacDonald commenting: 'Overall we’re very pleased with how the season went.' He added that first year financial projections, including a CAN$10.2m subsidy from the Nova Scotia Government, were likely to be met.

Operating as THE CAT, the 886 pass/282 car Austal Auto Express catamaran, previously named PUERTO RICO and chartered from the US Navy's Sealift Command, carried 35,551 passengers after re-launching the service in June while Nova Star Cruises, operating the route with a conventional ferry in 2014 and 2015, handled 59,000 and 52,000 passengers, respectively.

Nova Scotia also provided CAN$9m to refurbish THE CAT, originally delivered as ALAKAI from the Austal's US Yard in 2007 for a Hawaii Superferries inter-island service which failed in 2009. Although the US Navy took the 105m vessel, it was never used.

Oct 07 2016