Maine Commission to Discuss Pilotage Exemption for Bar Harbor Ferry

Maine Commission May Hear Request to Exempt Bar Harbor Ferry From Pilotage Rules

Jan 04, 2026

A passenger ferry named 'THE CAT' sails on the ocean, approaching the camera with a clear blue sky in the background.

BAR HARBOR—In a December 31 memo to the Maine Pilotage Commission, Bay Ferries Unlimited President Mark Wilson requested a discussion about LD 1477, which is “An Act to Provide an Exemption from Pilotage Requirements for Passenger Ferry Service Between Bar Harbor, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.”

Bay Ferries Request for Appearance with Commission-LD 1477 is on the Maine Pilotage Commission’s January 6 agenda.

That bill had been introduced by Rep. Gary Friedmann (D-Bar Harbor) and Senator Nicole Grohoski (D-Ellsworth).

The bill would exempt the CAT ferry captain from pilotage rules which require a harbor pilot on board as the ferry departs and arrives in Bar Harbor during its season. There are typically daily departures and arrivals during the ferry’s season, which generally runs from mid-May to mid-October.

The proposed legislation received a divided report and was carried over from 2025.

At the request of Rep. Friedmann and a lawyer representing Bay Ferries, in November, the Bar Harbor Town Council unanimously supported efforts to no longer use pilots for the ferry.

The ferry had its second highest season in 2025 with 39,745 passengers and 16,233 vehicles. In 2024, it had ferried 49,299 passengers and 19,935 vehicles. In 2024, the Nova Scotian government committed to subsidizing the ferry for two more years, with that support coming in at approximately $21 million in 2024. An economic study determined that tourists generated approximately $20 million during the 2023 season in the Canadian province.

Throughout the United States, pilots board vessels like The CAT or cruise ships and cargo ships offshore, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if the weather permits. The pilots’ job is to navigate those ships to ports. And then, they guide them out again. Typically, they employee local ship captains who employ local stern men to get them to the The CAT or other vessels.

The CAT did not run during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. A ferry service has existed in Bar Harbor from 1956 through 2009, stopping when Nova Scotia ended subsidies. From 2014 through 2018, the ferry ran from Portland to Nova Scotia instead, returning to Bar Harbor at a fully operational status in 2022.

The Penobscot Bay and River Pilots Association are part of a current lawsuit against the town’s cruise ship disembarkation limits of 1,000 people a day without fines. That case is ongoing.

A pilot boat docked at a pier with a person boarding while the sun shines over calm waters.

The Maine Pilotage Commission oversees 10 pilotage routes in Maine. Maine 38 § 86 requires that every foreign and American vessel under registry with a draft of 9 feet or more must employ a state licensed pilot. The commission itself is comprised of three licensed pilots, two members from a maritime industry that use pilots, and two members of the public who are not pilots, but have a maritime background.

Bar Harbor Harbormaster Chris Wharff testified in favor of the act back in late April 2025 when 19 people testified about the proposed legislation. Only Wharff, Friedmann, and Rep Holly Eaton (D—Stonington) testified in favor. Pilots, representatives from other fishing industries and organizations, such as the Maine Lobsterman’s Association, were opposed to the bill.

Wharff wrote, “Bay Ferries has been a good neighbor and participant in Bar Harbor’s economic development: invested in and maintains the terminal facility; provide(s) essential service to our harbor infrastructure.”

Captain Prentice Strong III, who is part of the Penobscot Bay and River Pilots Association, and who lives in Southwest Harbor opposed the requested change.

“If the bill is passed as written, the state will have no oversight of ALAKAI other than requiring them to take a pilot once a week. If there is an incident in the future (and no state licensed pilot is aboard), the state will have no ability to change that requirement unless the law is changed by the legislature. At a minimum, the Maine Pilotage Commission should have been brought into the mix to provide oversight for the State. I’m sure Bay Ferries does not want oversight from the state beyond what the law proposes,” Captain Strong wrote.

The legislation was also opposed by Matt Burns, a deputy director of the Maine Department of Transportation, who testified, “The stakes for safe vessel navigation are exceptionally high.”

Document from the Maine Legislature detailing an act to exempt pilotage requirements for passenger ferry service between Bar Harbor, Maine, and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

A legislative document outlining amendments to pilotage requirements for American vessels operating between Bar Harbor, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

In the December 31 memo, Wilson argues that “generally” international ferry services that are daily do not require pilots and specifically that it does not happen anywhere else for ferry service between the United States and Canada. He continues, saying that The CAT’s captains are experts that are familiar with the port and do not require harbor pilots. The pilots are paid for the service.

Wilson said that though the Maine Commission does not agree with Bay Ferries’ stance on not requiring pilots, the company is proposing three alternatives.

The first would be that a CAT captain would not require a pilot after having a pilot with them for 20 trips.

The second would be that The CAT is only required to have a pilot when it is not light out or if the visibility is less than a mile or if winds are over 35 knots.

The third is that a ferry captain be allowed to get a separate piloting licensing, take an exam, and not have to be sponsored by a current pilot company in Maine. This would only be for the Yarmouth to Bar Harbor route.

Photos: Shaun Farrar/BHS