Cat ferry season starting June 8
Bay Ferries and province paying $1.5 million for customs upgrades in Portland
Bay Ferries is accepting bookings for the 2018 season of the Cat ferry, but for this season to be happening it requires costly upgrades in customs equipment at the ferry terminal in Portland.
The security upgrades are a necessity for service spelled out by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Footing the $1.5 million bill are Bay Ferries and the Nova Scotia government.
Last year CBP said unless upgrades were made there would be no customs services. Without that there could be no ferry service.
“Initially, they had been seeking more than $7 million in upgrades for this season,” says Marla MacInnis, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, who says the agreed-upon work clears the way for the Nova Scotia-Maine ferry service in 2018.
The funding will cover licence plate readers and radiation portal monitors required by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The equipment is portable and designated for this ferry service.
Bay Ferries says its budget car- ries contingencies for work to be done at terminals.
2018 SEASON
The Cat’s season begins on June 8 and runs to Oct. 8. There are 108 daily round trips between Portland and Yarmouth. Last year The Cat ran into engine problems that forced a modification of its season and only allowed for 84 round trips instead of the planned 112. Still, the ferry – operating in its second season – saw an increase in passengers, carrying 41,623 in 2017 compared to 35,551 in 2016.
Bay Ferries president and CEO Mark MacDonald says the engine issue was disappointing.
“It was very disappointing because we knew what kind of a trajectory we were on in terms of our end-of-season sales,” he says. “On the other hand, I’ve never been more proud of the people that I work with because we had to reengineer the whole business very quickly and build the new schedule . . . and had a pretty good year in the process so that makes us optimistic moving forward.”
MacDonald said last week the engine repairs were 75 to 80 per cent complete. The engine manufacturer is covering all of the costs.
See CAT FERRY, A2