It’s the latest issue for the Yarmouth to Bar Harbor service.
Bay Ferries CEO Mark MacDonald says while work has “ramped” up on the Bar Harbor terminal building approvals from U-S Border officials is still required before the vessel can begin transporting passengers.
“The actual work started in December of last year but there are elements of the work that we have been held up on, both internal and external, to the terminal building, which are tied to (USCBP) United States Customs ad Border Protection approvals. We are now to the point where construction is proceeding at full speed but we haven’t been at that point for very long.”
He says the company is doing everything in its power to make sure the ferry will sail this year. We don’t see the service commencing before mid-summer.
“We’re proceeding incrementally in the hopes that circumstances will arise which will allow us to start service. We’re taking it on a week by week basis.”
MacDonald expects the CAT to arrive mid-day on Sunday, weather permitting.
“The present plan is for her to remain in Yarmouth until as such time as we start the service up which obviously we hope will be as soon as possible.”
He says in 2017 they were advised by USCBP that if they remained in Portland they would require a multi-million dollar upgrade to the terminal in that city.
“That was one of the initial manifestations that caused us to look at Bar Harbor.’
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