Mexico-Cuba ferry service eyed

Published Friday, March 13, 1998, in the Miami Herald

Mexico-Cuba ferry service eyed

MEXICO CITY -- (AP) -- Cuba could become a little less isolated under a plan by port authorities on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula to provide ferry service later this year to the island-nation.

The government news agency Notimex reported that under the plan, Sweden's Sanpey shipping company would provide ferries for the 150-mile trip.

The ferries would depart from Puerto Morelos, a small port just south of the resort city of Cancun. Mexican authorities hope to attract tourists already in the area visiting beaches and Mayan ruins to the ferry service.

One hitch is that the Swedish firm must still negotiate port fees for the ferry service, which would feature 400-foot vessels with the capacity to carry as many as 1,200 passengers and dozens of cars. There was no immediate reaction from Cuban authorities on the ferry service report.