PORTLAND, Maine - A new high-speed ferry will run this summer between Maine and Nova Scotia.
The Nova Scotia government announced Thursday that the Canadian company Bay Ferries will operate a twin-hulled vessel under a lease agreement with its owner, the U.S. Navy.
The ship, USNS Puerto Rico, is smaller and faster than the Nova Star ferry, which had operated on the same route for two financially disastrous seasons.
The Navy ship will be renamed the CAT.
It's similar in size and operation to a pervious high-speed ferry that Bay Ferries operated on the same route from 2006 through 2009. That vessel was also called the CAT.
The Puerto Rico can carry up to 866 passengers and 282 cars. It previously operated as a ferry in the Hawaiian islands under name Alakai.