Nova Star Cruises Goes Bankrupt

Nova Star Cruises Limited (Nova Star), a ferry company operating in Nova Scotia and Maine, filed for bankruptcy with Halifax district court on April 13, 2016, the company’s trustee said. 

The company resorted to the move having accrued USD 15 million in debt to creditors. What is more, Nova Star is linked to numerous outstanding payments to the city of Portland, Portland Pilots and Portland Tugboat to name just a few.

The company ran into trouble at the start of its operation amid regulatory delays and lower than expected demand for its service, specially in 2015.  The situation for the ferry operator was further exacerbated due to the fact that the company lost contract for the ferry service between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and Portland, for the 2016 season.

Namely, the company’s Ropax ferry MV Nova Star, was operating on the route since 2014.

Deloitte Restructuring Inc. (Deloitte) was appointed the trustee of the estate by the official receiver.

According to Deloitte, the first meeting of creditors is scheduled to be held on May 4, 2016 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

World Maritime News Staff