Yarmouth ferry lease hiccup could result in loss of passenger numbers, revenue

Bay Ferries sped through another major hurdle Monday evening after Portland, Maine’s council unanimously approved a lease with the ferry operator.

The lease ensures Bay Ferries can dock in Portland every day from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. — the CAT is scheduled to leave Portland daily at 2:30 p.m.

READ MORE: Bay Ferries begins taking Yarmouth to Maine ferry bookings

The afternoon departure is expected to be a boom for south western Nova Scotia’s hospitality industry because the timetable encourages passengers arriving on the ferry to stay in hotels overnight before driving further north.

It also gives more incentive to people leaving Yarmouth on the early departure to stay in a hotel nearby the night before.

However, the afternoon arrival time in Portland means the ferry will be arriving during busier times.

Portland is already warning Bay Ferries of nine possible blackout days where the port will be too busy for the CAT to dock.

It’s possible some of those days will be removed from the list but the city is also allowed to add days as long as it gives the company 30 days notice.

Blackout days could mean loss of 5,000 passengers

The blackouts could have a significant impact on Bay Ferries’ balance sheet and passenger totals.

In March, chairman and CEO Mark MacDonald said the goal is for Bay Ferries to host 60,000 passengers in the 2016 season. That means on average the ferry would see 560 passengers per day, given a 107 day operating season.

Unless all passengers change their vacation days in order to still take the ferry, the blackout days could mean the loss of more than 5,000 passengers.

READ MORE: Nova Scotia PCs want more details on new Yarmouth ferry plan

At the same technical briefing, MacDonald told reporters that 10,000 passengers translates to $2 million in revenue.

Following that logic, the nine blackout days could mean a hit of roughly $1 million to the ferry service’s bottom line.

Nova Scotia is on the hook for any cash deficiency the ferry service incurs. The Liberal government has already committed $23.3 million to the ferry service for the 2016 sailing season, that will be adjusted up or down based on the cash deficiency at the end of the year.

A spokesperson for Bay Ferries says the company expects there will only end up being four or five days during the sailing season when it doesn’t have access to Portland.

The lease outlines four days where the city could decide to remove four days in September from the blackout list. Bay Ferries will be notified in August what the status of those days is.