Ferry service between Maine and Canada may not return next summer.
Border security officials say they are closing their operations at Portland’s Ocean Gateway Terminal because it doesn’t meet federal safety standards for workers and passengers.
Keith Fleming, area port director for the agency, says the facility lacks adequate exits as well as up-to-date technology for reading license plates and detecting radiation.
“Currently as there are no plans to provide [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] with a fully compliant facility, we are unable to continue to provide service beyond the 2017 ferry season as we must maintain the highest level of national security at all of our ports of entry,” he says.
Portland officials say they want to find a way to meet the agency’s needs in 2018 — but the city can’t afford the anticipated $6 million-$7 million price tag.
The operators of the CAT, which has provided service between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, for two years, say they believe the issue can be resolved. But Bay Ferries manager Mark McDonald declined to say whether the company or the province might consider investment in the facility.