ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) – Unable to woo private investors, the city of Rochester wants to buy an idled high-speed ferry and relaunch daily voyages to Toronto, its glamorous neighbor on the far shore of Lake Ontario.

The $42 million Spirit of Ontario, a 55-mph catamaran that carried 140,000 passengers in its first 80 days of sailing, has been tied up at its home port here since Sept. 7 with debts of $1.7 million.

“Our community has a rare opportunity to work together in the restructuring of this venture, a venture that has demonstrated in its short lifetime a powerfully positive potential,” Mayor William Johnson Jr. said Thursday. “It deserves the opportunity … to play itself out.”

Without warning, private operator Canadian American Transportation Systems halted twice-a-day roundtrip crossings between Rochester and Toronto, blaming its financial woes on a string of mishaps and cross-border regulatory hurdles.

The mayor proposed creating a public authority that would sell government-backed bonds, buy the ferry for an estimated $40 million and restart services year-round beginning in April.

The city’s business plan, which would need state as well as city council approval, is backed by the ferry’s main investors – Dutch bank ABN AMRO and Export Finance and Insurance Corp., an arm of the Australian government, the mayor said.

The proposal “does not require additional taxpayer support” and protects more than $50 million in public funds invested to build port terminals, the mayor said. In contrast, the ferry company’s relaunch plan hinged on extra taxpayer help and was rejected by lenders, he said.

“I do not think we should beat ourselves up over a project that has tremendous public support,” Johnson said. “People want the ferry to operate. Yes, I would prefer that it could operate with private-sector dollars. To date, that has not been possible.”

The city will keep negotiating in hopes that the ferry company will “come in and essentially save the operation” but the lenders have “made it clear to us their objective is to get their money and they’ll sell (the ferry) on the open market,” the mayor said.

“It is our hope that we resolve this consensually, not in the courts,” said the city’s corporation counsel, Linda Kingsley. “An offer’s been made, we think it’s a fair one, and we hope we can accomplish a voluntary transfer of the boat.”

Boosters hope the ferry will open up a popular international gateway and create strong links with the dynamic Toronto area, which is home to nearly five million people.

The 171-mile road trip to Toronto usually takes three to four hours, and far longer when there are backups at the border near Niagara Falls. The ship got there in two hours, 15 minutes.

Only three other high-speed car ferries operate in the United States.

Built in Perth, Australia, the Spirit of Ontario was supposed to be the first one plying the Great Lakes. Its April 30 launch was scrubbed, however, after it sideswiped a pier in New York City. The 40-mph Lake Express car ferry was launched June 1 on Lake Michigan, cutting in half a five-hour road trip between Milwaukee and Muskegon, Mich.

The Spirit of Ontario’s maiden voyage finally came on June 18. After a rocky start, it carried 60,000 passengers in August alone – helped by half-price, one-way fares of $16 on three weekdays. The 284-foot-long, five-story-tall vessel can load 774 passengers and 220 cars.

AP-ES-11-18-04 1605EST