Scotia, as well as record-high fuel prices, Bay Ferries sought subsidies from the federal and provincial governments for its Gulf of Maine ferry service. The federal government refused to provide a subsidy, having removed itself from operating such a service in 1997. However, the provincial government offered a subsidy to cover the operating loss and this was subsequently provided in 2007, 2008 and 2009. In 2009 the provincial government canceled the subsidy and Bay Ferries announced in December 2009 that it was ending its ferry service and sold the vessel. Nova Star Cruises In 2013 the provincial government posted a request for proposals for re-establishing a Yarmouth - Maine ferry service, stating that a successful proponent would receive a $21 million subsidy over a 7-year period. In September 2013 it was announced that Nova Star Cruises was the successful proponent and in November 2013 it was confirmed that the service would start May 1, 2014 with the MV Nova Star offering daily round trips between Yarmouth and Portland. Nova Star Cruises also announced it was examining the possibility of using the vessel during the winter months on a service between Colombia and Panama bypassing the Darién Gap. Nova Star's contract to provide ferry services between Yarmouth and Portland was not renewed for 2016. Return of The Cat On March 24, 2016, 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 HST-2. The vessel will be operated for a passenger/vehicle ferry service in the Gulf of Maine between Portland, Maine and Yarmouth. The service and vessel will be branded as The CAT to align with the previous branding used by Bay Ferries. The vessel underwent a refit at a shipyard in South Carolina and the service began on June 15, 2016. Second World War During the first year of the Second World War, Yarmouth was selected as the location for a British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) facility. RCAF Station Yarmouth was originally opened in 1940 as three separate training sites (the East Camp, the West Camp and the Air Base). The East Camp was home to a detachment of the Royal Air Force's No. 34 Operational Training Unit (from RCAF Station Pennfield Ridge), who trained bomber crews, as well as the Royal Navy's No. 1 Naval Air Gunners School who were located at Yarmouth from