What do you think?
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Bound for Boston?
Group near deal for ferry to Nova Scotia
By Keith Reed, Globe Staff | June 2, 2005
A proposed ferry between Boston and Nova Scotia that would let passengers bring their cars, gamble, eat, or shop during the trip could set sail as early as next month.

Shores Atlantic LLC, the group that would operate the new service, is in final talks with the owners of the Scotia Prince, the 300-cabin ship they hope to lease, and with the Massachusetts Port Authority for dock space, said Eugene Hartigan, one of five investors in the venture.

If all goes well, final contracts between the parties could be signed this month, clearing the way for the inaugural 14-hour cruise sometime between July 1 and Aug. 1, he said.

The ferry would be the first such regular service connecting Boston's waterways with Canada's Nova Scotia, and could boost Massport's efforts to bring more cruise passengers through the Port of Boston. The number of passengers taking cruises from Boston has risen and tumbled in recent years, even as Massport has worked to draw more ships and more passengers.

Several cruise lines offer Caribbean, trans-Atlantic, and Bermuda cruises from Boston. This year, Massport expects 225,000 passengers to board cruise ships here, up from 199,453 in 2004.

Massport spokeswoman Danny Levy confirmed the talks, but said that several regulatory and community approval hurdles still need to be cleared.

The group is negotiating with Massport over the use of two potential docking locations for the ferry. Hartigan said the group prefers a deep-water berth along the Mystic River in Charlestown, a site that has ample parking.

''We look at the ship as a fun vehicle for people who maybe wouldn't take a Caribbean cruise, but would take a two- or four-day trip to Nova Scotia," Hartigan said.

If the new ferry sees the light of day, it would replace a defunct service that until last year ran between Portland, Maine, and Nova Scotia. Scotia Prince Cruises, the company that used to operate that service, canceled its 2005 schedule in April, citing ''dangerous levels of toxic mold" infesting the cruise terminal it had leased from the City of Portland, according to a statement from the company's chairman, Matthew Hudson, posted on its website.

Officials for Scotia Prince Cruises did not return calls from the Globe, but Gary Wood, Portland's city attorney, confirmed that the cruise company has filed a lawsuit against the city.

''Our view of why they stopped running out of Portland is very different from their view," Wood said. The city plans to countersue and has leased the terminal space out to a bus company that is running trips to the Foxwoods casino in Connecticut, he said.

Portland's loss could end up the gain of Bostonians and others willing to travel here for an overnight cruise filled with gambling, shows, or just relaxation.

Hartigan said the Portland lawsuit should not affect his group's efforts to lease the Scotia Prince. The ship can accommodate 1,000 passengers and about 185 cars, and the fares would range from $100 to $200 per round trip. He said the company could be profitable with roughly 250 people on each trip.

The ship carried an average of 700 to 800 passengers per trip when it was running from Portland, Hartigan said.

Initial plans are for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening departures from Boston to Shelburne, Nova Scotia, with return trips on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. Shelburne is a two-hour drive south of Halifax.

On Sundays, the group would operate a $50 per person ''family cruise to nowhere" that would take between four and six hours and travel a short distance into the Atlantic and back to Boston.

The cruise season would last through October, Hartigan said.

Once onboard, passengers could play slot machines and other gaming tables, watch a show in a 237-seat theater, or use a spa.
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lease for Boston to N.S. service

Canadian Press

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

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YARMOUTH, N.S. (CP) - A group of American investors hoping to set up a ferry service between Shelburne, N.S., and Boston is negotiating a lease for the M.V. Scotia Prince.

The proposal calls for the ferry to sail early-evenings from Boston on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays beginning this summer.

It would make the 12- to 14-hour trip from Shelburne on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Gene Hartigan, one of the investors with Shores Atlantic LLC of Boston, said an announcement could be made in a matter of days.

"It's less about whether it will become a reality but more about when it will begin," he said.

"I would say the window right now would be between July 1 and August 1. Obviously it would be an abbreviated season."

Lydia Deinstadt, manager of the Shelburne Visitor Centre, said it would be the economic boom that the town needs.

The ferry can accommodate 1,000 passengers and 185 vehicles.

Earlier this year the owners of the Scotia Prince cancelled service between Portland, Maine, and Yarmouth, N.S., after 35 years of operation and put the ferry up for sale.

Scotia Prince Cruises has filed a $20-million claim against the city of Portland for its alleged failure to address toxic mould at the city-owned International Marine Terminal.

City officials claim to have made $1.2 million worth of improvements to the ferry terminal and were looking for another tenant, possibly The Cat, the high-speed ferry that runs now between Bar Harbor, Maine, and Nova Scotia.

Portland officials acknowledged the potential loss of revenue, but defended their decision to terminate the ferry's $400,000-a-year lease after the cruise company cancelled the 2005 season.

Deadline nears for Boston-Nova Scotia ferry
Investors face critical hurdles in their bid to meet Aug. 1 launch
By Keith Reed, Globe Staff | June 25, 2005

Investors planning a ferry between Boston and Nova Scotia have until next week to finalize details to be able to start service this summer, according to the mayor of the Canadian town that would be its destination.

Mayor P.G. Comeau, of Shelburne, Nova Scotia, said his city has $400,000 in development funds that could be tapped to help bring the ferry in, but needs at least four weeks to bring in a barge and build special ramps to allow cars to be driven between the ship and the dock. The Scotia Prince, a luxury ferry that Shores Atlantic LLC wants to lease for the Boston-Nova Scotia ferry, accommodates about 1,000 passengers and about 185 cars.

The city has also committed to working with Canadian customs and security agencies to get the necessary approvals for a ferry, he said.

''If this is a doable thing this year, we would certainly tap into our funds to do that," Comeau said.

With an Aug. 1 target date for the inaugural voyage, that leaves Shores Atlantic, the group of investors planning the ferry, only days to meet several government requirements and sign leases for both the ship and dock they plan to use in Boston.

''I know that there are people who are skeptical" about whether the ferry proposal will become reality, said Gene Hartigan, a partner in Shores Atlantic.

''It's our goal to do this August 1st," he added. ''It's tight. I'm not saying this is a stroll in the park, but there is nothing that should keep us from reaching that."

In fact, several hurdles still need to be cleared.

Shores Atlantic said it has to sign a lease for the ship, which features a casino, restaurants, and stages for shows and concerts.

Until last year, the Scotia Prince was used to ferry passengers between Portland, Maine, and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, but that was halted after a dispute between the ship's operators and the Portland city government. A lawsuit is now pending.

Calls left for Scotia Prince Cruises, which ran the old ferry service, were not returned and it is unclear whether that group owned or leased the boat.

Shores Atlantic also has yet to sign a lease to use the Boston Autoport in Charlestown as the launch point for its cruises. The group had looked at two other sites owned by the Massachusetts Port Authority, but decided on the Autoport because it can already accommodate cars moving onto and off of a ship.

Lanny Johnson, a consultant for the Autoport, said talks with Shores Atlantic are in their final stages, but a deal would hinge on winning approval from the Coast Guard, US Customs and Border Protection, and Massport.

Massport leases its property on Terminal Street, under the Tobin Bridge in Charlestown, to the Autoport, and has to approve any subleasing arrangement with Shores Atlantic, Johnson said.

Massport, which has been trying to beef up its cruise business, already owns and runs Black Falcon Cruise Terminal in South Boston where luxury cruise liners depart for the Caribbean, Bermuda, and other locales.

The Autoport is set up for delivery of imported cars and would need to submit an amended security plan to the Coast Guard detailing how it would safely accommodate and screen passengers. A plan to allow customs officials to screen passengers getting off the ship from Canada would also be required, Johnson said.

Janet Rapaport, a customs spokeswoman, said the agency was aware of plans for the ferry, but hadn't yet met with Hartigan's group.

Hartigan said meetings with the Coast Guard and customs are slated for next week.

A Massport spokeswoman said the agency is making progress on the ferry proposal but no deals have been made.

Proposed fares for the ferry range from $100 to $200 per round trip. Initial plans are for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening departures from Boston to Shelburne with return trips on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings.

Despite the hurdles, Johnson is hopeful the ferry gets started soon.

''We're frankly excited about the opportunity because during the summer, the cycle of auto imports is such that Autoport is relatively empty," he said.

I think that Halifax-Boston would be a better idea than South Shore-Boston

Nova Scotia ferry won't sail this year
After ship's owners reject bid, Hub group hopes for May launch
By Keith Reed, Globe Staff | July 27, 2005

Nova Scotia's a no-go from Boston, at least for this year.

Several months of negotiations to bring the Scotia Prince ferry to Boston for trips to Nova Scotia ended this week, with the ship's owners rejecting a proposal from a Boston investor group, Shores Atlantic LLC. Its failure to lease a ship ends hope for a maiden voyage from Boston in 2005 -- a trip that until yesterday Shores Atlantic had said was still on track for August.

With no boat, however, the company says its only option is to regroup and look for another vessel, in hopes of starting the service in May.

''Even though we're disappointed, no one's interest has waned. It was very ambitious to try to start it this year, anyway," said Eugene Hartigan, a Shores Atlantic partner. ''We'll find a ship and be able to put a crew together and be ready."

But beyond securing a ship, Shores Atlantic had other hurdles.

The company first talked publicly about its plans in June, when Hartigan said cruises could start in July and run through October. The ship would have departed from Boston every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the 14-hour voyage to Shelburne, Nova Scotia, returning on Tuesdays and Saturdays, with roundtrip fares of between $100 and $200 per person.

But those plans were thwarted by a slew of important arrangements that needed to be made in a short time. Shores Atlantic needed a crew, docks for loading and unloading passengers and their cars, and security plans that could win the approval of US and Canadian customs officials.

Shelburne Mayor P.G. Comeau had set a July 1 deadline for Shores Atlantic to get its go-head to sail, because the Canadian town needed time to get ready for an August launch.

Comeau said he had been willing to commit a portion of a $400,000 city development fund to construction of a ramp to allow cars to drive onto the ship. He did not return several calls seeking comment yesterday.

It was mid-July before Shores Atlantic reached an agreement to use the Boston Autoport in Charlestown for boarding, but that was scuttled when the US Customs & Border Protection Service said the facility did not have an adequate place to conduct interrogations or detain people entering the country, if necessary.

Shores Atlantic later settled on using the Massachusetts Port Authority's Black Falcon cruise terminal in South Boston, but that meant cars were no longer part of the plan.

The Scotia Prince can carry 185 cars.

The ship, a 1,000-passenger vessel with showrooms, restaurants, and a casino, sailed from Portland, Maine, to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, until last year. Scotia Prince Cruises operated those trips, but canceled its 2005 season in April during a dispute with Portland's city government over the condition of its docks.

That left the Scotia Prince available, and Shores Atlantic contacted International Shipping Partners, a Miami cruise ship broker that manages the Scotia Prince on behalf of its owners, which is listed on International Shipping's website as Scotia Prince Cruises Limited.

That company could not be reached for comment; Charmaine Morris, a manager at International Shipping, declined to comment. Hartigan said Shores Atlantic never had direct contact with the Scotia Prince's owners and hasn't been given any explanation of why they rejected his company's offer.

He said he and his partners will spend the next 10 months looking for a ship to lease for a May 2006 launch, and taking care of details like the security plan that will be needed to use the autoport.

''I was surprised, but that's business," Hartigan said. ''The window's closed, and now it's time to look for a new ship."

what a bad idea! its like that boat between Toronto and New York, nobody would go on it.