Scotia Prince Cruises - Scotia Prince Cruises

Scotia Prince Cruises

In August 2000 the company's shares were purchased by a group led by Matthew Hudson of Virginia. The company was renamed Scotia Prince Cruises. The Scotia Prince was re-flagged (Bahamas). The company upgraded the ship and onboard services in addition to other improvements made at the company. The service was repositioned from a transport provider to a transport and package vacation company. The service was marketed as a cruiseferry and destination in its own right.

In 1997, CN Marine's successor (government-owned and subsidized) Marine Atlantic Yarmouth-Bar Harbor service was privatized by the government and taken over, along with the M/V Bluenose, by Northumberland Ferries Limited which established a subsidiary service named Bay Ferries Limited. At the same time, the federal Department of Transport transferred operational responsibility of the Yarmouth ferry terminal to Bay Ferries. The Bluenose II was sold at the end of the 1997 season by Bay Ferries and the proceeds were used to purchase the high-speed catamaran ferry The Cat (Hull number Incat 046, ex Devil Cat). Service began the following summer in 1998 dropping the crossing time from 6 hours to 2.5 hours. A few years later, The Cat was replaced by a slightly larger ship, INCAT 059, though still referred to as The Cat.

During the winter of 2002-2003, Scotia Prince Cruises Ltd. inaugurated a service called the "Yucatan Express", using the M/S Scotia Prince on a route between Tampa, Florida, in the United States and Cancun, Quintana Roo, and Merida, Yucatán, in Mexico.

In 2004, the company discovered dangerous levels of mold in the City of Portland's terminal. The CDC's National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health evaluated the terminal in March 2005. Based on toxicological and remediation reports and NIOSH's comments on the then current state of the IMT and the likelihood that the building could not be made safe, SPC cancelled its 2005 season. NIOSH's final report reiterates their on-site evaluation stating "a health hazard did exist at the IMT building" and "Additional work has been done at the remaining north (east) building of the IMT since the NIOSH site visit. However, the underlying structural defects of the building have not been addressed, resulting in a high likelihood of continued microbial growth". Within hours of SPC notifying the City that it was cancelling the 2005 season for safety reasons, the City of Portland held a press conference announcing they had terminated SPC's lease. The City immediately evicted Scotia Prince Cruises.

The company will not resume services from Portland. The ship was laid-up in Charleston, South Carolina, in December 2004 and was placed on the market for charter or sale. Following Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency chartered the vessel in mid-September 2005 for 6 months as a floating hotel for victims made homeless from that natural disaster. The ship was eventually sold in early 2007. In late September 2005 it was announced that Bay Ferries Limited would begin offering high-speed service from Yarmouth-Portland in 2006 using HSC INCAT 059.