Nova Star cancels crossings for 48 hours for maintenance

Less than a week after the Nova Star brought its first passengers to Yarmouth, its operator announced the ferry will be out of commission for 48 hours due to maintenance.

Four crossings between Nova Scotia and Maine will be cancelled next week.

Nova Star Cruises Ltd. says it needs the time to switch its marine evacuation system, which includes an inflatable chute and four life rafts that can be deployed during an emergency.

The company says the U.S. Coast Guard required the system to be activated during an inspection in April.

Since then, the Nova Star has been using another system thats been on loan to the ferry. Nova Star Cruises saystwo days are needed to switch back to theoriginal unit.

Four crossings will be cancelled. The company says passengers booked for those dates will get refunds and can rebook.

The cancelled crossings are:

• The departure from Portland on May 27.
• The departures from Yarmouth and Portland on May 28.
• The departure from Yarmouth on May 29.

The ferry is scheduled to resume service on May 29 with a departure from Portland.