Peaks Island residents are worried that a proposal for a new, larger ferry could leave the small Casco Bay island swamped with too many visitors.
Casco Bay Lines General Manager Hank Berg told CBS affiliate WGME that the Machigonne, the main ferry servicing the island, needs to be replaced because of its age and low capacity.
The ferry can accommodate about 400 passengers and 12 vehicles, and Berg told the TV station that the ferry service is considering a larger vessel with a capacity for nearly 600 people and 16 vehicles, though no decision has been made about a model or design for the vessel.
But island residents are concerned that the higher capacity would bring more visitors than the island can handle.
“We don’t have the capacity on the Peaks’ side to accept all those people, and we don’t have the infrastructure,” resident Angela Faeth told WGME.
Other residents told WGME renting another ferry in the summer would help handle the higher volume in July and August without leaving a new ferry running under capacity for the rest of the year.