PORTLAND, Maine — Nova Scotia’s top tourism official said Thursday he expects a delegation from Maine to visit the province later this summer to hash out specifics of how Maine might help support the ferry run from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, to Portland.
Geoff MacLellan, Nova Scotia’s transportation minister, said after a meeting with Portland officials and Gov. Paul LePage and senior staff Thursday that the province will likely seek help from Maine in developing a marketing plan for the service.
“I’m feeling positive about the conversations we had with the governor and his senior staff and the mayor here in Portland,” MacLellan said.
MacLellan traveled for the meetings in Maine to see what, if anything, the state would be willing to do to help support the service to which the provincial government has over two seasons given operator Nova Star Cruises $36.1 million (Canadian) of $41.5 committed in subsidies.
Maine has made improvements to its terminal in Portland in part to accommodate the service, which MacLellan said “is a testament to the commitment on the Maine side for the service.”
Nova Star Cruises fell far short of passenger goals in its first season but has retooled its schedule and pricing for the second season, with the hopes of hitting a passenger count of 80,000 this year.
The province has also said it may open the door to other possible ferry operators if this season does not prove successful for the Nova Star. MacLellan said Thursday that the province will evaluate the service later in the summer to determine whether it will be sustainable.
“We can’t continue to write checks toward this operation with no signs that things are stabilizing and that’s really what we’re looking for,” MacLellan said.
Portland Mayor Michael Brennan said in a statement Thursday that provincial officials assured him the ferry service would continue to connect with Portland and not Bar Harbor.
“I was pleased to learn that Bar Harbor is no longer under consideration for the ferry service,” Brennan said.
MacLellan said the province would seek in a follow-up meeting with officials later this summer to “discuss in detail what that partnership is going to look like — and not loose generalities.”
LePage previously said he would look for a way that the state could help extend a $5 million line of credit to Nova Star Cruises. That led the Finance Authority of Maine to seek out a bank that would be willing to provide that loan with a guarantee of part of the loan by the state government.
He later said he would submit a bill for the Legislature to create a way for the state to extend that line of credit, but decided against submitting such a bill with concern it would not clear the Legislature.