The US has issued licenses for companies to operate ferry service between Florida and Cuba, as Washington and Havana work to reestablish relations after more than half a century, according to dpa. The Treasury Department has issued licenses for passenger ferry service to the Caribbean island, a spokeswoman confirmed to dpa, but would not provide details about which companies had received approval or how many companies had been authorized to provide service. Miami-based Baja Ferries told dpa that it had been approved by the US to offer ferry service and hoped to begin making three to four trips per week in September or October. The company had not yet received confirmation from the Cuban government. It would carry up to 1,000 passengers per trip in overnight cabins from Miami to Havana, a trip of 416 kilometres, executive Joe Hinson said. The Sun Sentinal newspaper in south Florida reported that at least two US companies, Havana Ferry Partners and Baja Ferries USA, had been given the green light to operate the service. US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro opened the door to restoring relations in December with an exchange of prisoners, and Cuban and US officials have been travelling back and forth to meetings this year to iron out the details. The US opened the door to greater travel to Cuba, but widespread tourism remains forbidden, and the communist island remains under a US trade embargo. The embargo can only be lifted by Congress, which has so far shown little willingness to do so. Florida's Key West is 144 kilometres to Cuba.
