BAR HARBOR, Maine — A Canadian study that indicates there is potential to restore an economically viable ferry service between Maine and Nova Scotia is being welcomed as good news by many on both sides of the Gulf of Maine.
The most viable scenario laid out in the study does not hold much promise for the Maine town that hosted the ferry service for decades, however. If the international ferry service is restored, it likely will come and go exclusively from Portland, the study indicates. Bar Harbor is not projected to be part of a new ferry’s route.
“Portland is significantly more accessible than is Bar Harbor from the main U.S. population centers,” officials wrote in the recently released report. A panel of Canadian tourism and economic officials were commissioned this past spring by the Nova Scotia provincial government to study the issue. The provincial government subsidized the now-defunct Cat ferry from 2006 through 2009.
The 71-page report indicates that the viable type of ferry service would emphasize a cruiselike experience for passengers across the Gulf of Maine, similar to what the Scotia Prince offered out of Portland before it ceased operations in 2004. Because Portland is farther away from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, than Bar Harbor is, the reports says, running the service out of southern Maine “can justify a higher fare, and affords more time for a cruise experience and thus greater opportunity to generate on-board revenue.”
The longer trip also by necessity would result in more travelers staying overnight in Yarmouth — either the night they arrive on the ship or the night before they board — and therefore would bring business to lodging facilities there, the report indicates. At least one Yarmouth hotel has gone out of business since ferry service was discontinued three years ago.
The Portland harbor facilities also are in better physical shape than the ferry terminal in Bar Harbor, which needs refurbishment, the report noted. Bar Harbor and state officials are looking into possibly converting the old ferry terminal into a cruise ship pier facility.
Bar Harbor does have some advantages as a ferry destination, officials acknowledged in the report. Because it is closer to Yarmouth, a ferry could make a round trip between Bar Harbor and Nova Scotia in about 12 hours, which would save on fuel and allow for greater scheduling flexibility. Bar Harbor also has a ready supply of tourists, thanks to the natural beauty of Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park, who could be convinced to extend their trips into Canada by ferry.
“On the other hand, Portland is a growing cultural and business center in northern New England and is therefore an increasingly attractive destination for visitors from Nova Scotia — a potential ‘reverse tourism’ flow that would add traffic to a ferry,” the report indicates. “On balance, the panel believes that the market position of Portland, and the greater opportunity to generate revenue via fares and on-board attractions, outweigh the operating cost savings and scheduling flexibility associated with Bar Harbor.”
The report also indicates that Portland would be a better location than Boston for hosting an international ferry service. Boston’s distance from Nova Scotia would mean a ferry would not be able to make as many weekly trips back and forth, and its port facilities, though “excellent,” are not as easily accessible from major highways as Portland’s are.
Bar Harbor officials said this week that they are disappointed with the report’s recommendations. They said Bar Harbor’s economy benefited significantly from international ferry service, which operated from 1956 to 2009, when Bay Ferries pulled the plug on its high-speed catamaran service to and from Canada. Local hotels, restaurants and retail shops gained customers by having first the monohull Bluenose and then the high-speed Cat ferry come and go from Bar Harbor for 53 years.
“Clearly, we’re disappointed,” Chris Fogg, executive director of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday. “We’d love to see ferry service restored here.”
Dana Reed, Bar Harbor’s town manager, said Wednesday that Bar Harbor’s advantages as an international ferry port extend beyond fuel savings, scheduling flexibility and already having tourists.
The possibility of including more freight capacity on a new ferry, he said, favors Bar Harbor because of the shorter time at sea. Trucks that disembark in Bar Harbor are likely to get to their destinations sooner because they can travel faster on land than they can on a boat, he said.
“Obviously, we’re quite disappointed [with the report’s recommendations],” Reed said. “We feel there are economic advantages to landing a ferry in Bar Harbor as opposed to Portland.”
Reed said that the Cat ferry, which was geared more toward delivering passengers across the Gulf of Maine in a relatively short time than it was toward handling freight, had a schedule that was more friendly toward passengers than shipping companies. Accommodating more freight, he said, would help offset the decline in tourism business that any ferry service inevitably will experience during the winter months.
“We’re disappointed that [report] didn’t take that into consideration,” Reed said.
But according to the report, emphasizing freight transportation would be impractical for a Maine-Yarmouth ferry service because of the existing year-round, freight-friendly ferry service that exists between Digby, N.S., and Saint John, New Brunswick. A type of ferry that is more oriented toward carrying freight also would not be ideal for a passenger-cruise type of service, it says.
Nicole Clegg, spokeswoman for the city of Portland, said Wednesday that the city is “encouraged” by the prospects of restoring a year-round, daily international ferry service to Portland’s waterfront. She said the city has spent the past several years improving marine-related facilities and services on its waterfront, including its capacity for freight and passenger traffic.
“This would help get us on that road,” she said.
Follow BDN reporter Bill Trotter on Twitter at @billtrotter.
Take the Digby ferry to Saint John N.B. and drive to Bar harbor. By the time you load your car and everyone else ‘s, get under way, make the trip, unload and clear customs again-its easier to drive to Bar Harbor. I’ve done it both ways.
Why can’t they serve both on a schedule for 2 years and test the assumptions?
Because they already did for 3 years and it didn’t work to Bar Harbor.
On their dime or yours?
Not mine, thank you.
All a person has to do it take away the fact that they live in Maine, and look down from a hundred miles up. Where is the population center located? where is there more to do? And finally, where is there greater potential for income? Portland is the best choice. Not a fan of either I just don’t want my money going to more studies to prove what we all know anyway.
Why not a connecting stop in Bar Harbor?
I could see using it to save myself a three hour drive to Portland.
Because they would need to clear Customs at their first U.S. stop and they cannot in Bar Harbor anymore.
Why not? They were doing it when the Cat operated.
“Why not a connecting stop in Bar Harbor?”
More big trucks on Rt. 3 ?
The Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886 forbids a foreign-flagged vessel from transporting passengers between two domestic US ports. The Scotia Prince and the CAT were registered in the Bahamas so that’s why they couldn’t do a Portland-Bar Harbor run. Nor could they if they had been Canadian. It’s also why cruise ships can’t double as inter-port ferries. So any ferry capable of doing that would have to fly the US Flag and consequently, would have to be funded by the state and federal government, such as the Alaska Ferry system, since foreign-flagged vessels have much lower costs associated with them. I think people would love the ability to go between Portland and Bar Harbor by boat, but the service could never make enough to even begin to cover the costs of registering domestically.
Not only “flying U.S. flag,” but also built in the U.S. This is because of a law called the Jones Act, which shipping companies regularly try to get repealed, but then we’ll really be nowhere in terms of merchant shipping. Suffice it to say that the iconic Merchant Marine company “American President Lines,” or APL, now belongs to the Chinese government. No fooling.
Where is the distinction between ferry and cruise ship, Since this would be a “Cruise Ferry” and the Cruise ships flying foreign flags go US port to US port all the time (Portland to Bar Harbor even) Not saying you are wrong, since I have no idea, just wondering where the difference lies.
Bar Harbor really isn’t suited for much besides the Martha Stewarts of the world and tourists. Live 10 mins away and havent been to Bar Harbor in years!
Good.
biking, hiking, and kayaking…
I mean really? a ferry? just drive? really? WHY DONT THEY JUST BUILD A BRIDGE WHILE THEY AT IT!!! HAHAHAHAHA !!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zy23pvkobU
Wait a minute, we dont want to encourage any sort of freight from Canada thru Maine do we? With all the shouting from the rafters by the anti E/W highway nuts about helping canadian truckers with an evil highway. Jeez you dont suppose the folks in Bar Harbor are onto something are you? Encouraging business and commerce with the canadians? We can have them move on a ferry but not on a highway?
Good points all for everyone to see and think about. Why not expand US/Canadian freight movement thru the exisitng port’s ? Eastport alone can handle this issue since it’s already deep enough to accomidate freight ferry’s. It’s already being planned and made ready for the Millinocket bio-coal shipment’s to Europe so that alone makes the point there. Same for the other port’s along the coast. Is there enough freight moving to justify expanding freight ferry service to those port’s ? That is something that needs to be studied, by ‘both side’s’, to see if it can work or is it just a ‘nice idea’ that’s not practical. And the issue of manning these vessel’s and the legal issue’s, namely the Jones Act, is another issue to be studied and factored in. Can this all come together and work ? Only time and some very serious, and objective, planning will tell…..
The distance to Eastport and the tidal currents there are a real issue. This is particularly true with tug-barge cargo, which is how a large percentage of coastwise trade moves in North America. Even for a ship, Eastport is not a simple proposition. Unless the assist tugboats are right on the job, things can go very wrong.
The Cat failed already and now they want to bring it back and admit they would take a loss for at least 7 years? Sounds like a great business idea.
Who cares? It’s Canada’s money.
I don’t think anyone is advocating bringing in another high speed vessel.
A few points about the ferry plan:
1) The higher the cost of fuel, the more feasible the freight part of the plan is. The most efficient transportation machine on earth is a low-speed (under 12 knots) ship.
2) I have worked as captain on tugs operating in and out of Portland, Portsmouth, and Boston. Portsmouth is a nightmare, with very strong tidal currents, and a tricky, winding approach. Boston isn’t a bad harbor, but all the freight traffic is directed to Moran Terminal, at the North end of the harbor, under the Tobin Bridge, while the passenger traffic all goes to the Black Falcon dock in South Boston, right next to Castle Island. And then there’s the issue of getting off a ferry in downtown Boston, and making you way onto the turnpike, which is populated with Mass drivers.
In conclusion, Portland offers an easy, well-protected harbor, a straight shot to the ferry dock, and direct routes to I-295. Bar Harbor offers absolutely nothing for freight operations. It’s hard to drive to, the traffic can be insane in the summer, and once you finally get to Ellsworth, where are you? Half way to Bangor. Yippee.
A boat like the one that operates out of Saint John would be good going at about 20 knots
Here are the particulars of the “Princess of Acadia,” the ferry that runs between St. John and Digby: You’ll notice that they give her speed as being 18.75 kt, but that’s probably pushing pretty hard. On floating hulls, fuel consumption per mile increases with speed. The relationship between fuel consumption and speed, whether its due to wave-making resistance, skin friction, increases exponentially. It’s likely that engine efficiency also diminishes as the machinery nears 100% power output.
General ParticularsBuilder: Saint John Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Ltd. – Saint John, NBConstruction: 05/1971Class Society: Hull – +100A1 Machinery – +LMC Chain cable grade – U2Length Overall: 146.31mLength Waterline: 26.60mBeam overall: 20.12mDraft: 4.649mSpeed: 18.75 knotsGross Tonnage: 10051Net Tonnage: 7012Passenger Capacity: 650Vehicle Capacity: 155Propulsion: Oil Engines, Geared DriveEngines: OilGenerator: Maximum output power (kw) 3 x 650Air Conditioning: NoEvacuation: LifeboatsCrew Compliment: 28
ok
what about bucksport or bangor
In terms of transit time, Portland is closer to Digby than Bangor is. Going up the river depends on the tide, so there can be a lot of delay waiting for the tide. Even if the times were the same, Portland has better infrastructure, and it’s closer to where the cargo is most likely headed for, which is the great metropolitan fungus known as Bos-Wash
Didn’t that thing used to run over small boats?
I live in Bar Harbor and have enjoyed taking the ferry in the past, but I cannot see a compelling reason for it to operate from Bar Harbor. Portland has better links to the urban East Coast transportation infrastructure. I love living on MDI, but it is not a transportation hub any more than Portland has carriage roads.
You enjoyed taking the ferry, more than likely, for the day cruises. Ferries ply the waters two ways: bringing tourists from Bar Harbor and back and bringing tourists from Nova Scotia and back. This translates into money coming into Bar Harbor. Forget the transport of freight and think of catering to the tourists on a day cruise. From the Blue Nose and the Cat, tourists get in a little down time with a couple of nice meals on board, a little gaming (ala slot machines), and get to enjoy the view including whale flukes and dolphins. A day cruise has much to offer. Right now the terminal sits empty; it is time to get it humming again. Use small independent cruise lines to come into Bar Harbor and bring back the day cruise.
A ferry isn’t a cruise, though… They have very different purposes and logistical needs. Yes, you can ride a ferry as a sightseeing passenger, and it sure doesn’t hurt, but there are a lot of things about a ferry (esp. and itnernational one) that are not needed on a sightseeing cruise – like licensing, auto loading & facilities, overnight berths, etc. Also, ferries typically take the most direct route between two points, which typically means lots of hours on open water where there is really no scenic view.
Notice I mentioned bringing in the smaller variety of cruise line. I was not advocating a ferry service bringing along cars and trucks. Many people used the Blue Nose and Cat for their day cruise—that is where Bar Harbor should explore.
But the government of Nova Scotia would be nuts to subsidize those vessels. There’s little benefit to the voters and taxpayers of Nova Scotia.
I did not say that Canada should subsidize anything—I did say in an earlier post that Bar Harbor needs to get involved and try to work out something with a smaller cruise line—American.
I see in your other posts that you do not seem to believe there is a market for these. When you bring up Hollywood Casino in Bangor, you forget that the tourists on MDI are not all that familiar with Hollywood Casino as the Mainers are. Having the slots on a day cruise is enticing for some of those who are tired of the great outdoors of Acadia.
MDI as a whole has a pretty good collection of day boats, excursion boats, and in the good old days they had party-fishing boats and today there is whale-watching. I used to own a 49 passenger day boat that did summer excursions, and have worked as hired captain on quite a few.
I agree with you entirely that slot machines aren’t a great draw to people more interested in seeing their surroundings. But the gambling aspect of a vessel running in international waters used to be a draw, at least for the Blue Nose.
The currently unused ferry terminal probably could be refit to handle smaller excursion boats, and that might be a reasonable use for public money. Subsidizing the individual boats doesn’t strike me as being workable. They’re seasonal, and at least in Maine they’re not corporate operations.
Hmmmm…..Bar Harbor-Yarmouth was “viable” for a half-century. Have things changed that much?
It was viable until Bay Ferries screwed the pooch with the Rat… They spent too much money on an boat that was universally hated (OK, a few people liked it, but not many)
The Bluenose did it for many years. Why not now?
Among other things, the slot machines are no longer a draw. You can go to Hollywood slots and play the slots all night, and NEVER GET SEASICK. Big advantage.
If only Portland had an unused ferry terminal….
Bar Harbor has all kinds of excursion/sight-seeing trips on boats. With a tax break, perhaps a domestic smaller cruise line would be able to offer trips to Nova Scotia like those day cruises offered on the Blue Nose or Cat. Surely, hotels and shops in Halifax would appreciate the business and perhaps partner up. Certainly, there is a market in Bar Harbor for the trips and there could be a market for Canadians to spend a day and/or night in Bar Harbor.
The Blue Nose once carried a lot of trucks, but those days are over. Other means are available to skirt the long drive around New Brunswick to Nova Scotia and the traffic of the 60’s and 70’s is nothing like it is today in trying to get through Ellsworth making Bar Harbor an unlikely spot for a freight terminal ferry service.
Instead of whining that the Canadians will not take the initiative for restoring a ferry to Bar Harbor, the ball is in the court of those in Bar Harbor to court a smaller cruise line with incentives. Incentives may help get it started. Make a move, get it started, and with an ad campaign, perhaps the ferry will become a reality.
This is just another attempt by Paul Lepage’s Canadian countrymen to leach off of Maine’s tourist industry.
An East-West Highway is feasible – but, not a ferry service?
When are we going to wake up. The Cat flopped after being diverted to Portland. The old ferry “Bluenose” did a whale of a business between Bar Harbor and Yarmouth.
What’s laughable is this Canadian assumption Portland has more, whilst offering less on the other end at Yarmouth. Where’s the inspiration? Bar Harbor and the whole region has so much more.
Millionaire investors in Bar Harbor might want to consider a ferry, or cruise ship, between BH and Halifax, N.S? Good opportunity for a Maine shipyard.
A vessel making the trip from Bar Harbor to Halifax had better be pretty seriously seaworthy. The south coast of Halifax is exposed to the full fetch of the ocean.