A SINGAPORE company is playing its part in helping to restore a ferry service between Canada and the United States that was shut down in 2009.

The marine arm of Singapore Technologies Engineering has bought a stake in the luxury cruise ferry service.

ST Marine will own 10 per cent of the newly established Nova Star Cruises, incorporated and based in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The rest will be owned by US-based Quest Navigation.

Nova Star Cruises will operate a cruise ferry service between Yarmouth in Nova Scotia and Portland, Maine, in the US.

The service is expected to be up and running by the middle of next year. It will be restoring a link between Maine and Nova Scotia forged in the mid-20th century that ended in 2009.