enlarge 2008 Press Herald file

The Cat ferry arrives in Portland for the start of its season last summer. A proposed year-round ferry would operate in place of the Cat and accommodate commercial trucks.

PORTLAND — Officials in southwest Nova Scotia want to establish a new year-round ferry service between Yarmouth and New England that would accommodate commercial trucks.

Yarmouth officials are eyeing Portland as a partner, but they are also looking at Portsmouth, N.H., and the Massachusetts ports of Gloucester and Boston.

The vessel would be a conventional, single-hull ferry -- larger than the old Scotia Prince but slower than the Cat, the high-speed ferry that carries tourists between Portland and Nova Scotia in the summer.

The ferry would save truckers time and fuel by providing an alternative to the 740-mile trip by road, said Dave Whiting, general manager of the Port of Yarmouth and the Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission.

Most of the truckers would be hauling fish and wood products, he said. The ferry also could carry containers.

In the summer, it would operate in place of the Cat and serve tourists as well, he said.

"It's a realistic vision. We think it will work," Whiting said.

The proposal is part of the port's long-range plan released this month. It calls for $20 million in investment in the port, and proposes developing a U.S. customs clearance facility in Yarmouth for truckers and ferry passengers.

Portland's primary drawback as the possible U.S. port is that it is farther away from Boston, the destination of much of the fish cargo. But Whiting said that Portland and Yarmouth share a common history.

"We always lean toward Portland because of our relationship with them," he said.

There has been ferry service between Portland and Yarmouth since 1970, when the Prince of Fundy began operating. The Scotia Prince operated between 1982 and 2005, and the Cat took over in 2006.

Another link is Jeff Monroe, who until last year worked as the director of ports and transportation for the city of Portland. Monroe worked for Yarmouth as a consultant on the plan.

Monroe said the service initially would be subsidized by the province of Nova Scotia, which is now subsidizing the Cat as well as conventional ferry service between Digby, Nova Scotia, and Saint John, New Brunswick.

Nova Scotia last year provided Bay Ferries, the operator of the Cat, with $5 million. This year, it has agreed to cover operating losses of the coming season, with a cap at $12 million.

The Cat eliminated some trips at the end of last season because of high fuel costs and the lack of growth in passenger traffic.

The Digby-Saint John ferry is also struggling. The Canadian government and the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have pledged enough financial support to keep the service afloat until 2011. Digby is about an hour's drive from Yarmouth.

The question for the Nova Scotia government, Monroe said, is whether it should "put all its eggs in one basket" and invest in just the year-round ferry service between Yarmouth and New England.

He said the new ferry service would be a success if it uses the right kind of vessel -- a modern, fuel-efficient ferry of the kind used in the North Sea.

Portland officials on Monday were not aware of Yarmouth's plan but said they want to get involved.

"We have had a long-standing relationship with Nova Scotia and are looking forward to talking with them about this plan and seeing what opportunities there are to expand services between our two communities," said city spokesperson Nicole Clegg.

Bay Ferries officials could not be reached for comment.

The year-round ferry service would have several obstacles, said Christopher Wright, who lives in Digby and works as a consultant to ferry companies around the world.

Wright said it's unclear whether there is enough demand for shipping cargo between Nova Scotia and New England. In addition, a harbor maintenance tax levied by the U.S. government on all imports would add more than $300 to the shipment of a typical truckload...