The Nova Scotia government has receied three proposals to consider for ferry service between New England and Nova Scotia and Portland is a leading contender to be the US port, Seacoastonline.com reports on its website.

The provincial government of Nova Scotia is offering $21 million over seven years to subsidise the startup and it says the next step is to evaluate the proposals to determine whether the companies are able to run a viable service. It has not set a deadline.

The three companies that have expressed an interest in the service are Quest Navigation Inc from Maine, US. has joined with International Shipping Partners of Miami and ST Marine of Singapore for one of the proposals.

The other expressions of interest come from P&O Ferries in the UK, which is part of the DP World group and Balearia Caribbean Ltd., which operates between Florida and the Bahamas and which is part of the Spanish ferry company Balearia.