Four companies — including the current operator, Nova Star Cruises — have submitted bids to run the Yarmouth ferry service in 2016, according to the Department of Transportation.

Earlier this year, the Nova Scotia government began to evaluate whether the current company is the best option for provincial taxpayers.

In the two years since the service began, the province has handed Nova Star Cruises $39.6 million. The original plan was to provide $21 million over the first seven years of operation.

Government officials have been in talks with alternative companies in recent months. Last Friday was the deadline for all companies to submit bids to operate the service next year.

Transportation Minister Geoff MacLellan has repeatedly said there will be a ferry running between Yarmouth and Portland, Maine, next year.

At a legislative committee meeting last month, officials with Nova Star Cruises argued they should remain the operator. They told committee members a new company would likely have to spend the millions Nova Star did starting up the service in 2014.

Nova Star Cruises estimates it can break even after it secures winter work, changes the ship's fuel system and increases ridership to more than 80,000 passengers.

Last year, ridership was approximately 59,000 and is on track to drop this year.

Transportation officials say they will now assess each of the bids to determine which meet criteria outlined by the government's request for service.

A decision on which company will run the ferry next year is expected sometime after the current season ends in October.