News

Euroferries Ltd., the buyer of the high-speed ferry the Spirit of Ontario which was due to come into cross channel service this year has announced it is purchasing a second catamaran and plans to have shipbuilder Austal Ltd. build it a third "sister ship." 

The company has yet to secure financing to close the $29.8 million purchase of the Spirit of Ontario from the city of Rochester NY, in the United States. Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy is reported as saying this week his patience was wearing thin, and he talked about a deadline for the deal, announced May 3. 

City spokesman Gary Walker was quoted saying the city was aware of Euroferries' plans, adding "the scope of their operation and their wherewithal" was partly what persuaded city officials to deal with the company. 

"The purchase of those two other ships is not what's holding our deal up," Walker said. "They're looking for funding for something much larger."

Officials have said that Euroferries' troubles with the Rochester deal were with the long-term operating capital, not the money to actually buy the ferry. 

"We have a clear and well thought out strategy for this project ... and one that we are not at this stage prepared to share," Euroferries' Adrian Gillan wrote in a statement distributed Friday."