''The Cat'' is a passenger / vehicle ferry operated by ''Bay Ferries Limited'' between
Yarmouth and
Maine.The vessel is a
high speed catamaran
A Formula 16 beachable catamaran
Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States
A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-sta ...
built by the
Tasmania
)
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, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
n shipbuilder
Incat.
History
''The Cat'' was constructed for
Bay Ferries as ''The Cat'' and operated seasonally in from 2002–2005 in international service from May to October across the
Gulf of Maine
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, caption =
, image_bathymetry = GulfofMaine2.jpg
, alt_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry = Major features of the Gulf of Maine
, location = Northeast coast of the ...
between
Yarmouth,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native E ...
and
Bar Harbor,
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
. The vessel replaced the
Incat 046 which had inaugurated high speed ferry services in North America on this route in 1997, using the marketing name "The Cat".
Starting in the winter of 2003–2004, Bay Ferries began to operate the vessel as a wet-lease charter during the off-season for the Gulf of Maine service, when the ''INCAT 046'' had previously been laid up. From November 2003 to April 2004, ''The Cat'' was operated by Bay Ferries for Bahama Florida Express, which was an inaugural high speed ferry service between
Port Everglades
Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2019, Port E ...
,
Florida
Florida is a U.S. state, state located in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia (U.S. state), Geo ...
and the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...
. From December 2004 to April 2005, Bay Ferries operated ''The Cat'' between
Port of Spain
Port of Spain ( Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a munici ...
and
Scarborough in
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
for the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. This same route was served by ''The Cat'' from November 2005 to May 2006 and ''INCAT 046'' filled in from May to October.
After the 2005 demise of the Yarmouth-Bar Harbor route's competitor,
Scotia Prince Cruises, using the M/V ''
Scotia Prince'' between Yarmouth-
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, Maine, Bay Ferries secured this additional route for ''The Cat'' beginning in May 2006. For that season, ''The Cat'' operated from Yarmouth to Bar Harbor on Mondays to Thursdays and from Yarmouth to the
Ocean Gateway International Marine Passenger Terminal in Portland on Fridays to Sundays.
On December 18, 2009 Bay Ferries announced that it was ending its Gulf of Maine service from Yarmouth to Bar Harbor and Portland after the Government of Nova Scotia ended the subsidies, resulting in approximately 120 jobs being lost. Bay Ferries had been seeking approximately $6.0 million for the 2010 operating season but the provincial government declined, citing financial difficulty.
In 2011 ''The Cat'' was purchased by Fujian Cross Strait Ferry. The vessel has been renamed ''Hai Xia Hao'' (海峽號) which means "Straits" and operated between
Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Tai ...
and
Pingtan Island.
, ''The Cat'' is owned and operated by Bay Ferries Limited, servicing Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Bar Harbor, Maine, USA.
Vessel characteristics
''The CAT'' is a vessel built by
InCat Australia in
Hobart, Tasmania
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
in 2002 as ''The Cat''.
''The CAT'' is constructed from
marine grade
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ...
alloys
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductilit ...
. Each water-borne
hull is subdivided into multiple watertight compartments connected by an arched bridging structure with a central forward hull above the smooth water line. Each water-borne hull carries two engines which drive
water jets mounted on the transom.
Vehicles are stowed in and between both waterborne hulls in a configuration of rising and descending decks which load from a single level transfer bridge at the stern. The main passenger deck is immediately above the vehicle decks and consists of a cafe, gift shop, children's play area and passenger seating lounges, as well as an outside observation deck that runs the width of the ship at the stern. The passenger seating lounges have overhead television monitors which play movies or television broadcasts, as well as a continuously updated map showing the vessel's GPS coordinates.
Sisterships
''The Cat'' is one of six 98-metre catamarans built by Incat. The other vessels are
''Normandie Express'',
''T&T Spirit'', ''Milenium Dos'', ''
HSV 2 Swift'' and ''Milenium Tres.''
References
External links
Bay Ferries - The Cat official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hai Xia Hao
Ships built by Incat
Ferries of Taiwan
Incat high-speed craft
2002 ships