The Cat ferry that will provide high-speed service between Yarmouth and Portland, Maine, has successfully completed sea trials, its operator Bay Ferries Limited has announced.

Testing began last weekend, with just three weeks left before the ship is supposed to start carrying passengers.

The trials were conducted both at sea and dockside in South Carolina where the ferry underwent a refit that started in early April.

Heading north

The ferry was built in 2007 and is owned by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command.

Bay Ferries said The Cat is now heading north for training exercises, final regulatory approvals, certification and equipment testing. That will take place both in Portland and Yarmouth.

Service is set to begin June 15 and will shut down for the season at the end of September.

Daily schedule

The new ferry will travel on a daily schedule between Yarmouth and Portland.

It will leave Yarmouth in the morning and return from Maine in the evening.

Bay Ferries estimates it will take five and a half hours to make the crossing, about half the time it would take to drive from Yarmouth to Portland.

The Nova Scotia government is spending more than $32 million over the next two years to support the ferry service.