Post by ferryfast admin on Oct 31, 2007 11:28:43 GMT -5
Portland wooing Bay Ferries with new terminal
by Carla Allen/The Vanguard
THE VANGUARD
www.NovaNewsNow.com
A “beautiful” new $20 million terminal in the heart of Portland’s tourist district will open in December and the city is in negotiations with Bay Ferries in hopes of a long-term contract.
“We’re looking for as long as possible. We’re thinking possibly a minimum of five years. We like to think in a frame of multiple five-year arrangements,” said Captain Jeff Monroe, the city's transportation and ports director.
Munroe was contacted shortly after landing at the Halifax airport where he was on his way to meetings with Bay Ferries and Halifax airport and seaport officials.
The old Portland terminal will become a dedicated cargo facility and Munroe said they are working at expanding the existing Halifax-Portland service.
The new Ocean Gateway terminal is specifically designed for cruise ships and international ferries and has waiting areas, customer and travel services, a receiving area, ticketing and security services, customs clearance facility and a brand new roro (roll-on/roll-off) ramp.
Next year will be the Cat’s third season to sail out of Portland, where it now buys its fuel and provisions. This year the company reduced its service to one departure per day from Bar Harbor instead of the double run it provided on three of the four days it operated from there in 2006. But the company also added 29 more one-way trips between Portland and Yarmouth.
Managers of Portland hotels found the Cat’s schedule to be an improvement over last year and Munroe says the city would love to see increased service.
“But that’s obviously a business decision on Bay Ferries part,” he said.
“The market dynamics have changed. It’s not a question of Portland versus Bar Harbor, it’s a question of what makes sense, what the market demand is like.
“It worked out very well for us. The hoteliers really took advantage of it, there’s no question of that. And operationally it worked better because they left first thing in the morning and came back in the evening,” he said.
The Cat can carry 760 passengers and more than 200 vehicles. It replaced the Scotia Prince, which discontinued service in 2005 after operators said unacceptable conditions at the City of Portland’s International Marine Terminal were behind their decision to cancel service.