Post by ferryfast admin on Apr 7, 2005 18:40:52 GMT -5
Portland severs ties with ferry
By KELLEY BOUCHARD, Portland Press Herald Writer
www.mainetoday.com/
Modular offices were built by the city of Portland next to the International Marine Terminal building after mold problems were discovered in the terminal last year. The city says it has has spent $1.2 million on renovations and new structures.
Portland officials announced Wednesday that they have terminated the Scotia Prince's docking lease and will seek other tenants for the newly renovated International Marine Terminal.
The announcement came after Scotia Prince Cruises abruptly canceled its 2005 ferry schedule on Tuesday, blaming Portland officials for failing to fully address toxic mold found in the city-owned terminal in August.
The city's move ended a 35-year relationship that had become strained since the Hudson family took over the ferry line nearly five years ago and passenger totals between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, started to decline.
Scotia Prince officials filed a claim against the city late Friday seeking more than $20 million in damages for business losses related to various conditions at the terminal, said city attorney Gary Wood. The city has retained the law firm Pierce Atwood to handle its counterclaim, which will be dealt with in arbitration as required by the ferry line's contract.
Scotia Prince hasn't paid rent since last summer and owes the city about $215,000. The city's counterclaim likely will address future lost rental income - about $400,000 per year - along with other issues related to the ferry line's contract, Wood said.
City Manager Joseph Gray Jr. denied that there is a continuing mold problem at the terminal. He said the city has invested $1.2 million in renovations, including the demolition of an old warehouse and the recent installation of a new warehouse and modular offices.
"Whatever the reasons for (the cancellation), the city does not believe they are attributable to mold . . . and there is no basis for canceling a season when the city has met its lease obligations," Gray said.
Gray said a Scotia Prince official walked through the new buildings on Friday and gave no indication that the 2005 season would be canceled.
The company advertised the start of the 2005 season in this week's Maine Sunday Telegram, seeking early bookings with a one-third-off package deal. The Scotia Prince Web site touted the coming season until a cancellation notice was posted Wednesday morning, offering full refunds on all current bookings, plus 20 percent credit on future bookings.
"This last-minute announcement . . . clearly demonstrates that Scotia Prince's intention all along has been not to sail this season," Gray said.
Mark Hudson, vice president of finance and communications for Scotia Prince Cruises, acknowledged that the 485-foot ferry's business declined last season. He said the company had every intention of resuming service this spring, but the city failed to properly remove the mold that sickened workers at the terminal.
"We cannot and will not risk the health of our employees," Hudson said from his office in Ontario. The company has 250 full- and part-time employees during the height of the summer season.
Gray said the city will consider all options in seeking a replacement for the Scotia Prince, which would have been the anchor tenant of the planned Ocean Gateway cruise-ship terminal on the eastern waterfront.
Possibilities include Bay Ferries Ltd., which runs a high-speed catamaran ferry from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth. Its ship, The Cat, also has been affected by a decline in travel to Nova Scotia, but its owners have talked with Portland officials about picking up passengers closer to Boston.
Last summer, Scotia Prince workers vacated the terminal offices and started processing passengers outdoors. City officials promised to address the problem with a mold remediation expert. Some publicly accused ferry company officials of planning for a lawsuit because passenger numbers had been off since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
At the end of the 2004 season, Hudson said passenger numbers were down 23 percent from 2003 and down 30 percent from 2002.
The company's chairman, Matthew Hudson, Mark's father, issued a four-page letter to Scotia Prince employees on Tuesday. He said a toxicologist visited the terminal on Friday and found that the remaining building still leaks, some mold areas have been painted or covered with new drywall and a section of the building has been inadequately sealed off.
"The millions of mold and bacteria pathogens per gram of dust that I found just three weeks ago in my sampling will only grow back in time," Dr. Richard Lipsey wrote in his report to Hudson.
Hudson said federal work-safety officials inspected the terminal on March 29 and U.S. Customs officials were evacuated from the terminal the following day. City officials declined to say why Customs left, and calls to Customs officials failed to produce a clear explanation.
Gray, the city manager, denied Hudson's complaints. He said the city's test results will be available next week.
"All preliminary results indicate that the public spaces of the existing facility are safe for use," Gray said.
The news about the Scotia Prince was no surprise to many on Portland's waterfront. Mark Usinger, owner of A.L. Griffin Inc., a ship supplier, said he stopped doing business with the ferry line three years ago, when getting paid for goods and services became a struggle.
Usinger figures there's plenty of blame to go around for Scotia Prince's troubles. He criticized the new owners' business decisions as well as city officials' slow response to longstanding structural problems at the ferry terminal. Most of all, he said, the Scotia Prince is an old ship with a destination that has grown less desirable.
By KELLEY BOUCHARD, Portland Press Herald Writer
www.mainetoday.com/
Modular offices were built by the city of Portland next to the International Marine Terminal building after mold problems were discovered in the terminal last year. The city says it has has spent $1.2 million on renovations and new structures.
Portland officials announced Wednesday that they have terminated the Scotia Prince's docking lease and will seek other tenants for the newly renovated International Marine Terminal.
The announcement came after Scotia Prince Cruises abruptly canceled its 2005 ferry schedule on Tuesday, blaming Portland officials for failing to fully address toxic mold found in the city-owned terminal in August.
The city's move ended a 35-year relationship that had become strained since the Hudson family took over the ferry line nearly five years ago and passenger totals between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, started to decline.
Scotia Prince officials filed a claim against the city late Friday seeking more than $20 million in damages for business losses related to various conditions at the terminal, said city attorney Gary Wood. The city has retained the law firm Pierce Atwood to handle its counterclaim, which will be dealt with in arbitration as required by the ferry line's contract.
Scotia Prince hasn't paid rent since last summer and owes the city about $215,000. The city's counterclaim likely will address future lost rental income - about $400,000 per year - along with other issues related to the ferry line's contract, Wood said.
City Manager Joseph Gray Jr. denied that there is a continuing mold problem at the terminal. He said the city has invested $1.2 million in renovations, including the demolition of an old warehouse and the recent installation of a new warehouse and modular offices.
"Whatever the reasons for (the cancellation), the city does not believe they are attributable to mold . . . and there is no basis for canceling a season when the city has met its lease obligations," Gray said.
Gray said a Scotia Prince official walked through the new buildings on Friday and gave no indication that the 2005 season would be canceled.
The company advertised the start of the 2005 season in this week's Maine Sunday Telegram, seeking early bookings with a one-third-off package deal. The Scotia Prince Web site touted the coming season until a cancellation notice was posted Wednesday morning, offering full refunds on all current bookings, plus 20 percent credit on future bookings.
"This last-minute announcement . . . clearly demonstrates that Scotia Prince's intention all along has been not to sail this season," Gray said.
Mark Hudson, vice president of finance and communications for Scotia Prince Cruises, acknowledged that the 485-foot ferry's business declined last season. He said the company had every intention of resuming service this spring, but the city failed to properly remove the mold that sickened workers at the terminal.
"We cannot and will not risk the health of our employees," Hudson said from his office in Ontario. The company has 250 full- and part-time employees during the height of the summer season.
Gray said the city will consider all options in seeking a replacement for the Scotia Prince, which would have been the anchor tenant of the planned Ocean Gateway cruise-ship terminal on the eastern waterfront.
Possibilities include Bay Ferries Ltd., which runs a high-speed catamaran ferry from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth. Its ship, The Cat, also has been affected by a decline in travel to Nova Scotia, but its owners have talked with Portland officials about picking up passengers closer to Boston.
Last summer, Scotia Prince workers vacated the terminal offices and started processing passengers outdoors. City officials promised to address the problem with a mold remediation expert. Some publicly accused ferry company officials of planning for a lawsuit because passenger numbers had been off since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
At the end of the 2004 season, Hudson said passenger numbers were down 23 percent from 2003 and down 30 percent from 2002.
The company's chairman, Matthew Hudson, Mark's father, issued a four-page letter to Scotia Prince employees on Tuesday. He said a toxicologist visited the terminal on Friday and found that the remaining building still leaks, some mold areas have been painted or covered with new drywall and a section of the building has been inadequately sealed off.
"The millions of mold and bacteria pathogens per gram of dust that I found just three weeks ago in my sampling will only grow back in time," Dr. Richard Lipsey wrote in his report to Hudson.
Hudson said federal work-safety officials inspected the terminal on March 29 and U.S. Customs officials were evacuated from the terminal the following day. City officials declined to say why Customs left, and calls to Customs officials failed to produce a clear explanation.
Gray, the city manager, denied Hudson's complaints. He said the city's test results will be available next week.
"All preliminary results indicate that the public spaces of the existing facility are safe for use," Gray said.
The news about the Scotia Prince was no surprise to many on Portland's waterfront. Mark Usinger, owner of A.L. Griffin Inc., a ship supplier, said he stopped doing business with the ferry line three years ago, when getting paid for goods and services became a struggle.
Usinger figures there's plenty of blame to go around for Scotia Prince's troubles. He criticized the new owners' business decisions as well as city officials' slow response to longstanding structural problems at the ferry terminal. Most of all, he said, the Scotia Prince is an old ship with a destination that has grown less desirable.