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June 12, 2006

A course for adventure | Last year, the Scotia Prince said goodbye to Portland. So where's it been?

By Taylor Smith
In May, Portland welcomed with great fanfare the arrival of The Cat high-speed ferry, celebrating the return of Portland-to-Nova Scotia car ferry service after last summer's unexpected break in the 35-year summer travel tradition. For the last 23 of those years ˆ— until 2005 ˆ— that route was the domain of the Scotia Prince, a 485-foot ferry. But the ship steamed out of Portland for the last time in late 2004 amidst a bitter dispute with Portland officials over toxic mold at the International Marine Terminal, the ship's Portland berth.
But while the Scotia Prince hasn't been seen in the Gulf of Maine for nearly two years, it's hasn't been idle. The following is a short travelogue of the post-Portland life of the Scotia Prince.


PORTLAND
December 2004 The Scotia Prince leaves Portland Harbor for what appears to be the last time after finishing its 2004 season. The ship's destination: A dry dock in Charleston, S.C., for its regular two-year maintenance check.

CHARLESTON, S.C.
April 2005 The vessel stays in dry dock at Detyens Shipyards Inc., where it gets an overhaul, including new paint on the hull and safety upgrades like high-pressure sprinklers and new gates on the car deck.

NEW ORLEANS, LA.
September 2005 Following Hurricane Katrina, the Scotia Prince is commissioned by the Federal Emergency Management Administration to assist in disaster recovery efforts. The ship was a base for cleanup efforts in New Orleans' St. Bernard Parish, which was among the hardest hit areas of the city, and housed roughly 900 first responders, local officials and volunteers.

FT. LAUDERDALE, FLA.
March 2006 The Scotia Prince leaves New Orleans bound for North Africa, where it has been chartered by the Moroccan government. It stops in Ft. Lauderdale to reload supplies and fuel up for the transatlantic voyage.

TANGIER, MOROCCO
March 2006 The Scotia Prince begins making trips between Tangiers and Genoa, Italy, ferrying seasonal workers to Europe. Portland-based WGME-TV reports in early April that the ship was required to fix more than 30 "deficiencies" before it sailed into Genoa in late March. Dennis Bailey, a Portland-based spokesperson for Scotia Prince Cruises, tells the Associated Press that those deficiencies were corrected.

ALGERIA
June 2006 Scotia Prince Cruises says the Algerian government this month is scheduled to take over the ship's charter, and will use the Scotia Prince to ferry workers and other passengers across the Mediterranean Sea to France.

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