PORTLAND (AP) – The City Council has given final approval to a deal that restores ferry service between Portland and Nova Scotia.

Under the agreement, operators of the high-speed ferry known as The Cat will operate three days a week between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The ferry will continue to operate between Bar Harbor and Yarmouth on the other days.

“We’re very excited and energized by the agreement and look forward to a mutually successful business arrangement,” city spokesman Peter DeWitt said Tuesday.

The ship holds 900 passengers and cruises at 55 mph, making the trip from Portland to Yarmouth in about five-and-a-half hours.

The Portland deal came about when owners of the Scotia Prince abruptly ended a 35-year relationship with the city last spring. Up until then, a decades-old agreement between the city and the Scotia Prince limited competition.

Although the ferry will run three days a week from Portland, the contract allows the service to expand to seven days a week, said City Transportation Director Jeffrey Monroe. Bay Ferries has said that it would need to buy an additional ship to do that.

Under the deal approved 8-0 Monday night, Bay Ferries would pay much less to use the International Marine Terminal than owners of the Scotia Prince.

The Scotia Prince brought in an estimated $400,000 a year in lease payments before its owners pulled out in a disagreement with the city. The Cat’s lease limits payments to $200,000, and its first-year projection is $132,000.

Portland would renegotiate the agreement in two years, when the new Ocean Gateway terminal opens along the eastern waterfront.

Most of the revenue would come from a tariff on passengers and vehicles.

The agreement would require the operator to pay 75 cents per passenger, $1 per car and $10 per bus or truck, as well as $200-a-month for security, DeWitt said.

Unlike the deal with the Scotia Prince, there is no clause in the agreement that limits competition against The Cat on the route.

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