Nova Star Cruises files for bankruptcy over failed Yarmouth ferry

Nova Star Cruises owes creditors more than $15 million and has filed for bankruptcy months after it stopped operating the ferry from Yarmouth to Maine.

Trustee Deloitte Restructuring posted the bankruptcy notification on Wednesday, saying Nova Star went bankrupt on April 13. 

The first meeting of creditors will happen May 4 at 10:30 a.m. at the Mackinnon-Cann Inn at 27 Willow Street in Yarmouth. 

Nova Star Cruises received $39.5 million in subsidies from the provincial government over the two years it operated the ferry service. The ship had about 110,000 passengers, short of its two-year goal of 180,000.

Steve Dunn, owner of Nova Scotia's Deep Blue Media, says Nova Star owes him about $6,300 for two unpaid invoices. He created a passenger-experience video for the company and was working on a second when Nova Star ceased operations. 

He wasn't surprised by the bankruptcy announcement.

'It leaves a bad taste'

"I had a quick look at the bankruptcy documents online — particularly their balance sheet — and it doesn't look very good for getting paid," he said.

"The total outstanding bills Nova Star owes seems to be in the $15-million range, and their assets are in the $150,000 range."

In mid-November, Nova Star said it owed about $200,000 to vendors and suppliers in Nova Scotia. 

Bankruptcy documents say it also owes millions to companies outside Canada. Most of them are American, but the largest unpaid bill is $11.8 million owed to Singapore Technologies Maritime Ltd., which owns the vessel Nova Star Cruises operated.

As for Dunn, he plans to go to the May 4 creditors meeting and still hopes to get paid. He notes the irony that as a taxpayer, he helped subsidize a company that now owes him thousands of dollars.

"It leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Dunn said. 

"Being a small company, it's never a good thing to take a hit, but we're doing well enough that it's certainly not going to make a major impact on the company."