The August passenger numbers for the Yarmouth Cat ferry are down compared to to last year.
Engine problems with the Cat caused Bay Ferries to reduce the number of scheduled trips to Portland.
Transportation Minister Lloyd Hines is hopeful this month will bring more visitors to the province, but says the ferry won’t hit its target of 60,000 passengers this year.
“We enjoy a great September season here and you get a different sort of traveller in that period of time. So, I think we’ve got those kinds of things going in our favour. But there’s no doubt about it, we’re going to be down from what we were hopeful for because of those engine issues.”
Hines says the season was promising until the mechanical problems surfaced.
“With the start that we had, sixty, sixty-five (thousand passengers) would’ve been realizable (sic). But at this point in time, we are still hopeful for that.”
The Cat has moved 32,000 passengers so far this year.
The mechanical problems are scheduled to be repaired once the 2017 sailing season is over.
