Nova Star Limps to 2014 Finish Line
The Nova Star ferry service, which began offering trips from Portland, Maine to Nova Scotia in May, will end its first year early.
The service will shut down for the year on October 14, instead of a previously scheduled final trip of November 2. The 650 passengers who will be affected by that decision will receive full refunds and a discounted reservation in the future, The Bangor Daily News reports.
For now, that‘s apparently the best option for a service that looks like it needs to regroup, lick its wounds, and move forward. The president of Nova Start Cruises said in a statement:
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The service faced some financial challenges this summer, having exhausted nearly all of a $21 million loan from Nova Scotian officials that was meant to last seven years.
The service has only brought on 45,000 passengers so far this year. According to the Daily News, estimates originally had the ferry providing 100,000 rides.
The Nova Star hasn’t been aided by a Maine government that said it would help the service secure a line of credit but has yet to follow through—even though, by some measures, Maine has benefitted more from the ferry than its neighbor to the north.
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