Yarmouth one step closer to rebooting ferry service

The Nova Scotia government has received two bids from companies interested in filling the void left when the high-speed CAT ferry pulled out of Yarmouth leaving a desolate wharf.

The deadline for proposals was Thursday.

Percy Paris, Nova Scotia's Minister of Tourism, said Quest Navigation incorporated out of Maine and Maryland's Maritime Applied Physics both submitted plans to reboot the service.

They'll be evaluated by a committee, which includes people from the private sector. The government said that evaluation will take about a month.

If one of the proposals is approved, the government said it's prepared to provide up to $21 million over seven years.

The CAT ferry, which started its run between Yarmouth and Bar Harbor, Maine in 1997, was able to carry 900 passengers and 240 vehicles. It ran every day in the summer and five days a week in the spring and fall shoulder seasons.

The NDP government cancelled a $6-million subsidy for the service in 2009.

The fishing town said it depended on the ferry service to deliver American tourists to the area.