South Florida ferry company plans trips to Cuba

The South Florida ferry company CubaKat is planning to start very soon operating trips by sea to Cuba from Marathon in the Florida Keys, the company said Friday.

“CubaKat’s goal is to offer our ferry service, from the Florida Keys to ports within Cuba, some time in 2015. Currently, we’re working with officials from both countries to make this venture a reality,” the company said on its Web site.

It’s not the only company in Florida interested in offering trips to the port of Havana: Havana Ferry Partner, among others, with offices in Fort Lauderdale, applied some time ago for a license to operate a high-speed ferry service to Cuba.

These companies must wait until the U.S. government authorizes the issuing of licences, subject to the regulations of the existing U.S. embargo on Cuba.

Unlike the number of charter airlines already operating flights to the island, no company as yet has a license to transport travelers to Cuba by sea, according to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury.

CubaKat could offer a high-speed catamaran to cover the route between Marathon and Havana, a distance that would take some four hours for the double-hulled boat to cross.

“Very simply, our desire is to provide a low cost, reliable and safe transportation option for visitors to the island of Cuba…whether travelers are visiting family, exploring a new country, (or) going for educational or religious activities,” the company said.

“While we are not currently operating ferry service from Florida to Cuba, we are working very closely with both U.S. and Cuban authorities and other partners to gain full governmental approval for our service,” CubaKat said. EFE

(From: Fox News Latino)