would prevent Scotia Prince Cruises from returning to the Yarmouth service and entered into discussions with Bay Ferries about expanding its Gulf of Maine service to include Portland, in addition to Bar Harbor. An announcement was made in late summer that Bay Ferries would include "The Cat" service to both ports from Yarmouth beginning in 2006 using HSC INCAT 059. Beginning with the 2006 and continuing into the 2007 operating seasons, the Government of Nova Scotia provided an annual $1.5 million subsidy to Bay Ferries due to declining passenger revenue and increased fuel expenditures. The subsidy was increased by the provincial government for the 2008 operating season to $6.0 million to account for rising costs and further declines in revenue. It is unknown how much of a subsidy was provided for the 2009 operating season but it is believed to surpass the 2008 amount. The company has received subsidies totaling $18.9 million since the fall of 2007. On December 18, 2009 Bay Ferries announced that it was ending its Gulf of Maine service from Yarmouth to Bar Harbor and Portland after the Government of Nova Scotia ended the subsidies, resulting in approximately 120 jobs being lost. Bay Ferries had been seeking approximately $6.0 million for the 2010 operating season but the provincial government declined, citing financial difficulty. The disposition of HSC INCAT 059 is unknown. As of June, 2010, HSC INCAT 059 could often be seen docked at its former terminal in Bar Harbor. It has since been purchased by Taiwan and is now called Hai Xia Hao and is a passenger / vehicle ferry operated by Fujian Cross Strait Ferry between Taichung and Pingtan Island. Ferry service between Maine and Nova Scotia was nonexistent during the following years. During the 2014 and 2015 seasons, a separate company, Nova Star Cruises, operated a cruiseferry between Portland and Yarmouth, though the company closed at the end of the 2015 season and the vessel was sold. In March 2016, only a few months after the closure of Nova Star Cruises, Bay Ferries Limited announced that it had reached an agreement with the U.S. Maritime Administration and the U.S. Navy for a multi-year charter of a new high-speed catamaran, HST-2. The vessel will be operated for a passenger/vehicle ferry service between Portland, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The vessel will continue to be named HST-2, but the service and vessel will be branded