
A ferry is a boat that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus.
Ferries form a part of the public transport systems of many waterside cities and islands, allowing direct transit between points at a capital cost much lower than bridges or tunnels. Ship connections of much larger distances (such as over long distances in water bodies like the Baltic Sea) may also be called ferry services, and many carry vehicles.
History
The profession of the ferryman is embodied in Greek mythology in Charon, the boatman who transported souls across the River Styx to the Underworld.
Speculation that a pair of oxen propelled a ship having a water wheel can be found in 4th century Roman literature "Anonymus De Rebus Bellicis". Though impractical, there is no reason why it could not work and such a ferry, modified by using horses, was used in Lake Champlain in 19th-century America. See Experiment (horse powered boat).
In 1850 the roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) ferry, Leviathan designed to carry freight wagons efficiently across the Firth of Forth in Scotland started to operate between Granton, near Edinburgh, and Burntisland in Fife. The vessel design was highly innovative and the ability to move freight in great quantities and with minimal labour signalled the way ahead for sea-borne transport, converting the ro-ro ferry from an experimental and marginal ship type into one of central importance in the transport of goods and passengers.
In 1871, the world's first car ferry crossed the Bosphorus in Istanbul. The iron steamship, named Suhulet (meaning 'ease' or 'convenience') was designed by the general manager of Şirket-i Hayriye (Bosporus Steam Navigation Company), Giritli Hüseyin Haki Bey and built by the Greenwich shipyard of Maudslay, Sons and Field. It weighed 157 tons, was 155 feet (47 meters) long, 27 feet (8.2 meters) wide and had a draft of 9 feet (2.7 meters). It was capable of travelling up to 6 knots with the side wheel turned by its 450-horsepower, single-cylinder, two-cycle steam engine. Launched in 1872, Suhulet's unique features consisted of a symmetrical entry and exit for horse carriages, along with a dual system of hatchways. The ferry operated on the Üsküdar-Kabataş route, which is still serviced by modern ferries today.
Notable services
Asia
In Hong Kong, Star Ferry carries passengers across Victoria Harbour. Other carriers ferry travelers between Hong Kong Island and outlying islands like Cheung Chau, Lantau Island and Lamma Island.
In the Philippines, the Philippine Nautical Highway System forms the backbone of the nationwide transport system by integrating ports with highway systems; the system has three main routes. Another known ferry service is the Pasig River Ferry Service, which is the only water-based transportation in Metro Manila. This system cruises the Pasig River.
Bangladesh
The country's extensive river network makes ferries a practical and affordable mode of transport. Passenger ferries, locally referred to as "launches," are widely used to travel to the southern and south-western regions of Bangladesh from the capital. The most popular destinations include Barisal, Bhola, Patuakhali, and Khulna. Additionally, there are water-transport routes connecting Dhaka with Kolkata in India.
Approximately 200 launches operate across 107 water routes throughout the country as of 2022[update]. To support the launch services, the BIWTA has developed 292 wharfs (ghats) for the docking of these vessels, and oversees 380 launch terminals.
There are 53 roll-on/roll-off ferries running on seven routes across the country: Paturia–Daulatdia, Aricha–Kazirhat, Shimulia–Banglabazar, Bhola–Lakshmipur, Lajarhat–Veduria, Char Kalipur–Kalipur Bazar and Harinaghat Chandpur–Shariatpur.
More than 800,000 small and medium wooden sailboats and rowboats, often retrofitted to be motorised, are an important means of transportation for people and goods across the country, especially during the rainy season. These boats transport over 1.2 million tonnes of freight annually. Among these are the dingi, which is the oldest form of Bengal boat. Larger cargo boats includes vessels such as the balam, bajra and sampan. Under the category of bainkata (flat-bottomed) boats are the ghasi, gachari, dorakha, kathami, mallar, patam and panshi, among others. Ubiquitous throughout Bangladesh, especially in monsoon flood-prone regions, is the kosha, a small, highly manoeuvrable boat that is easy to operate. These various traditional wooden boats play a vital role in providing transportation during the rainy season when other modes become impractical due to flooding.
The ferries are often overloaded and continue to operate in poor weather; many people die each year in ferry and launch accidents. From 2005 to 2015, nearly 1,800 casualties have been reported due to river transport incidents, a number which may be higher due to the prevalence of unregistered vessels. In 2014, the launch Pinak 6 sank in the Padma River with more than 200 passengers aboard near Munshiganj's Louhajang Upazila.
India
India's ro-ro ferry service between Ghogha and Dahej was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 October 2017. It aims to connect South Gujarat and Saurashtra currently separated by 360 kilometres (220 mi) of roadway to 31 kilometres (19 mi) of ferry service. It is a part of the larger Sagar Mala project.
Water transport in Mumbai consists of ferries, hovercraft, and catamarans, operated by various government agencies as well as private entities. The Kerala State Water Transport Department (SWTD), operating under the Ministry of Transport, Government of Kerala, India regulates the inland navigation systems in the Indian state of Kerala and provides inland water transport facilities. It stands for catering to the passenger and cargo traffic needs of the inhabitants of the waterlogged areas of the Districts of Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kollam, Ernakulam, Kannur and Kasargode. SWTD ferry service is also one of the most affordable modes to enjoy the beauty of the scenic Kerala backwaters.
Ferry operates between Port Blair, Havelock & Neil Islands in the Andaman Islands while Boat Operates For Ross Island, North Bay, Elephanta Beach, Red Skin, Jolly Bouy. Ferries and catamarans are operated by Green Ocean, Makruzz, ITT Majestic, Nautika.
Indonesia
As the largest archipelagic country, Indonesia has several ferry routes which is managed mostly by PT. ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero) and several private companies. ASDP_Indonesia_Ferry or ASDP is a state-owned company engaged in the business of integrated ferry and port services and waterfront tourist destinations. ASDP operates a ferry fleet of more than 160 units handling more than 300 routes in 36 ports throughout Indonesia.
Japan
Japan used to rely heavily on ferries for passenger and goods transportation among the four main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. However, as highway and railway bridges and undersea tunnels (such as the Seikan Tunnel and Honshū–Shikoku Bridge Project) have been constructed, the ferry transportation has recently become for short-distance sightseeing passengers with or without car, and for long-distance truck drivers hauling goods.
- The number of actual seats has traditionally been very limited like on this Japanese passenger ferry, with larger spaces dedicated to tatami or areas where passengers can sit or lie down (on Shikoku and Kyushu ferry, 2014).
- Inside a short distance ferry, the, Kagoshima, Japan (2023)
- Long-distance ferries are also used by motorcyclists.(Ocean Tokyu Ferry, 2019)
- A second-class cabin on the ferry connecting Tokyo and Kitakyushu. A simple bed with curtains.(Ocean Tokyu Ferry, 2019)
Malaysia
The Malaysian state of Penang is home to the oldest ferry service in the country. The first regular ferry service operating across the Penang Strait between George Town and Province Wellesley (now Seberang Perai) was launched in 1894 by Quah Beng Kee and his brothers. The iconic yellow double-deck roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferries were introduced in 1957. Between 1959 and 2002, a total of 15 vessels were commissioned for the service.
Currently operated by the Penang Port Commission, the ferry service has evolved over the decades. The RORO ferries were retired in 2021, with speedboats temporarily replacing them. In 2023, these speedboats were succeeded by four newly-built catamarans, which now serve only passengers and motorcyclists. These catamarans operate between the Raja Tun Uda Ferry Terminal in George Town and the Sultan Abdul Halim Ferry Terminal in Seberang Perai.
Russian Federation
Due to the geographical features of Russia, it has a large number of both sea and river ferry crossings. Car ferries operate from the continental part of Russia to Sakhalin, Kamchatka and Japan. The Ust-Luga – Kaliningrad ferry also runs, until February 2022 ferries also ran from St. Petersburg to different cities of the Baltic Sea. Before the construction of the Kerch Bridge, there was a ferry across the Kerch Strait, whose service was resumed after the Kerch bridge explosion. There are also more than 100 ferry crossings on different rivers in Russia. These are usually symmetrical through ferries with two ramps for quick entry and exit of cars. For some categories of car owners, these ferries may be free if there is no alternative crossing of the river.
Europe
Great Britain
The busiest seaway in the world, the English Channel, connects Great Britain and mainland Europe, with ships sailing from the UK ports of Dover, Newhaven, Poole,Portsmouth and Plymouth to French ports, such as Calais, Dunkirk, Dieppe, Roscoff, Cherbourg-Octeville, Caen, St Malo and Le Havre. The busiest ferry route to France is the Dover to Calais crossing with approximately 9,168,000 passengers using the service in 2018. Ferries from Great Britain also sail to Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Ireland. Some ferries carry mainly tourist traffic, but most also carry freight, and some are exclusively for the use of freight lorries. In Britain, car-carrying ferries are sometimes referred to as RORO (roll-on, roll-off) for the ease by which vehicles can board and leave.
Denmark
The busiest single ferry route in terms of the number of departures is across the northern part of Øresund, between Helsingborg, Scania, Sweden and Elsinore, Denmark. Before the Øresund bridge was opened in July 2000, car and "car and train" ferries departed up to seven times every hour (every 8.5 minutes). This has since been reduced, but a car ferry still departs from each harbor every 15 minutes during daytime. The route is around 2.2 nautical miles (4.1 km; 2.5 mi) and the crossing takes 22 minutes. Today, all ferries on this route are constructed so that they do not need to turn around in the harbors. This also means that the ferries lack stems and sterns, since the vessels sail in both directions. Starboard and port-side are dynamic, depending on the direction the ferry sails. Despite the short crossing, the ferries are equipped with restaurants (on three out of four ferries), cafeterias, and kiosks. Passengers without cars often make a double or triple return journey in the restaurants; for this, a single journey ticket is sufficient. Passenger and bicycle passenger tickets are inexpensive compared with longer routes.
Baltic Sea
Large cruiseferries sail in the Baltic Sea between Finland, Åland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Saint Petersburg, Russia. In many ways, these ferries are like cruise ships, but they can also carry hundreds of cars on car decks. Besides providing passenger and car transport across the sea, are a popular tourist destination unto themselves, with multiple restaurants, nightclubs, bars, shops and entertainment on board. Helsinki was the busiest international passenger ferry port in the world in 2017 with over 11.8 million passengers whilst the second business international ferry port, Dover, had 11.7 million passengers. The Helsinki-Tallinn route alone accounted for nine million passengers. In 2022 the port of Helsinki had almost 8 million passengers, of which 6.3 million travelled between Helsinki and Tallinn. Additionally many smaller ferries operate on domestic routes in Finland, Sweden and Estonia.
The south-west and southern parts of the Baltic Sea has several routes mainly for heavy traffic and cars. The ferry routes of Rødby-Puttgarden, Trelleborg-Rostock, Trelleborg-Travemünde, Trelleborg-Świnoujście, Gedser-Rostock, Gdynia-Karlskrona, and Ystad-Świnoujście are all typical transports ferries. On the longer of these routes, simple cabins are available. Some of these routes previously also carried trains, but since 2020 these trains are instead routed around the Baltic via the Great Belt fixed link and Jutland.
Turkey
In Istanbul, ferries connect the European and Asian shores of Bosphorus, as well as Princes' Islands and nearby coastal towns. In 2014, İDO transported 47 million passengers, the largest ferry system in the world.
Italy
The largest ferry system in Italy is in Venice. The city's water taxis (Italian: taxi d'acqua) provide service all around the city's canals. They can carry up to 10 people. They operate on a series of lines that stop at different locations around Venice.
Sweden
The world's shortest ferry line is the Ferry Lina in Töreboda, Sweden. It takes around 20–25 seconds and is hand powered.
- MS Silja Symphony leaving Helsinki via the Kustaanmiekka strait to the Baltic Sea.
- Ro-Pax Festos Palace in Piraeus, Greece
- A road ferry between Oulu and the Hailuoto Island on the Bothnian Bay
- M/S Gullbritt in the Gullmar Fjord close to Lysekil, Sweden. Sweden has many of these yellow ferries that are run by the Swedish Transport Administration. Almost all of them are free of charge.
North America
Canada
Due to the numbers of large freshwater lakes and length of shoreline in Canada, various provinces and territories have ferry services.
BC Ferries operates the third largest ferry service in the world which carries travellers between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland on the country's west coast. This ferry service operates to other islands including the Gulf Islands and Haida Gwaii. In 2015, BC Ferries carried more than 8 million vehicles and 20 million passengers. In Vancouver there is SeaBus.
Canada's east coast has been home to numerous inter- and intra-provincial ferry and coastal services, including a large network operated by the federal government under CN Marine and later Marine Atlantic. Private and publicly owned ferry operations in eastern Canada include Marine Atlantic, serving the island of Newfoundland, as well as Bay, NFL, CTMA, Coastal Transport, and STQ. Canadian waters in the Great Lakes once hosted numerous ferry services, but these have been reduced to those offered by Owen Sound Transportation and several smaller operations. There are also several commuter passenger ferry services operated in major cities, such as Metro Transit in Halifax, and Toronto Island ferries in Toronto. There is also the Société des traversiers du Québec.
United States
Due to the North Carolina coast's geography, consisting of numerous sounds, inlets, tidal arms, and islands, ferry transportation is essential in the region. The state operates twelve routes, eight of which are under the oversight of the North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division, three of which are under the direct oversight of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, and one of which is under the oversight of the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation. Three of the Ferry Division routes are tolled, and all ferry routes operated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation carry both vehicles and pedestrians, although certain vessels only carry pedestrians and cyclists. The National Park Service additionally works with private companies to offer ferry service to locations such as Cape Lookout and Portsmouth.
Washington State Ferries operates the most extensive ferry system in the continental United States and the second largest in the world by vehicles carried, with ten routes on Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca serving terminals in Washington and Vancouver Island. In 2016, Washington State Ferries carried 10.5 million vehicles and 24.2 million riders in total.
The Alaska Marine Highway System provides service between Bellingham, Washington, and various towns and villages throughout Southeast and Southwest Alaska, including crossings of the Gulf of Alaska. AMHS provides affordable access to many small communities with no road connection or airport.
The Staten Island Ferry in New York City, sailing between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island, is the nation's single busiest ferry route by passenger volume. Unlike riders on many other ferry services, Staten Island Ferry passengers do not pay any fare to ride it. New York City also has a network of smaller ferries, or water taxis, that shuttle commuters along the Hudson River from locations in New Jersey and Northern Manhattan down to the midtown, downtown and Wall Street business centers. Several ferry companies also offer service linking midtown and lower Manhattan with locations in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn, crossing the city's East River. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in February 2015 that city would begin an expanded Citywide Ferry Service, and launched as NYC Ferry in 2017, linking heretofore relatively isolated communities such as Manhattan's Lower East Side, Soundview in The Bronx, Astoria and the Rockaways in Queens and such Brooklyn neighborhoods as Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, and Red Hook with existing ferry landings in Lower Manhattan and Midtown Manhattan. A second expansion phase connected Staten Island to the West Side of Manhattan, and added a stop in Throgs Neck, in the Bronx. NYC Ferry is now the largest passenger fleet in the United States.
The New Orleans area also has many ferries that carry both vehicles and pedestrians. Most notable is the Algiers Ferry, which has been in continuous operation since 1827 and is one of the oldest operating ferries in North America. In New England, vehicle-carrying ferry services between mainland Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket are operated by The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority, which sails year-round between Woods Hole and Vineyard Haven as well as Hyannis and Nantucket. Seasonal service is also operated from Woods Hole to Oak Bluffs during the summer and fall. As there are no bridges or tunnels connecting the islands to the mainland, The Steamship Authority ferries in addition to being the only method for transporting private cars to or from the islands, also ferry heavy freight and supplies, such as construction materials and fuel, competing with tug and barge companies. Additionally, Hy-Line Cruises operates high-speed catamaran service from Hyannis to both islands, and several smaller operations run seasonal passenger-only service primarily geared towards tourist day-trippers from other mainland ports, including New Bedford, (New Bedford Fast Ferry) Falmouth, (Island Queen ferry and Falmouth Ferry) and Harwich (Freedom Cruise Line). Ferries also bring riders and vehicles across Long Island Sound to such Connecticut cities as Bridgeport and New London, and to Block Island in Rhode Island from points on Long Island.
Transbay commuting in the San Francisco Bay Area was primarily ferry-based until the advent of automobiles in the 1940s, and most bridges in the area were built to supplant ferry services. By the 1970s, ferries were primarily used by tourists with Golden Gate Ferry, an organization under the ownership of the same governing body as the Golden Gate Bridge, left as the sole commute operator. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake prompted the restoration of service to the East Bay. The modern ferry network is primarily under the authority of San Francisco Bay Ferry, connecting with cities as far as Vallejo. Tourist excursions are also offered by Blue & Gold Fleet and Red & White Fleet. A ferry serves Angel Island (which also accepts private craft). Alcatraz is served exclusively by ferry service administered by the National Park Service.
Until the completion of the Mackinac Bridge in the 1950s, ferries were used for vehicle transportation between the Lower and the Upper Peninsulas of Michigan, across the Straits of Mackinac in the United States. Ferry service for bicycles and passengers continues across the straits for transport to Mackinac Island, where motorized vehicles are almost completely prohibited. This crossing is made possible by two ferry lines Shepler's Ferry and Mackinac Island Ferry Company (formerly Star Line).
A ferry service runs between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Muskegon, Michigan operated by Lake Express. Another ferry SS Badger operates between Manitowoc, Wisconsin and Ludington, Michigan. Both cross Lake Michigan.
Numerous additional inland ferry routes exist in the United States, such as the Cave-In-Rock Ferry across the Ohio River, and the Benton-Houston Ferry across the Tennessee River.
Modernization of ferry system
The FTA announced in September 2024 that it would award $300 million in grants to modernize ferry systems in the United States. These grants will support 18 projects across 14 states, emphasizing upgrading environmentally friendly propulsion systems. Eight of the 18 projects will receive funding for this purpose.
One notable project is the San Francisco ferry system, which will receive $11.5 million to improve the connection between Treasure Island and Mission Bay. In Maine, the ferry system will be upgraded in Lincolnville and Islesboro. Additionally, Alaska will receive a significant $106.4 million grant to replace a 60-year-old vessel operating in the southwest. This vessel is a crucial connector for the region.
These grants are part of the FTA's efforts to improve ferry transportation in the United States and promote sustainable transportation options.
Mexico
Mexico has ferry services run by Baja Ferries that connect La Paz located on the Baja California Peninsula with Mazatlán and Topolobampo. Passenger ferries also run from Playa del Carmen to the island of Cozumel.
- MV Spirit of Vancouver Island en route to Tsawwassen from Swartz Bay. Route 1 is BC Ferries busiest route.
- The MV Spokane sailing from Edmonds to Kingston, one of ten routes served by Washington State Ferries.
- Alaska Marine Highway System ferries MV LeConte and MV Kennicott near Juneau, Alaska
South America
There are several ferries in South America.
Chacao Channel has ferry lines.
Oceania
Australia
In Australia, two Spirit of Tasmania ferries carry passengers and vehicles 450 kilometres (280 mi) across Bass Strait, the body of water that separates Tasmania from the Australian mainland, often under turbulent sea conditions. These run overnight but also include day crossings in peak time. Both ferries are based in the northern Tasmanian port city of Devonport and sail to Geelong. Before Geelong this ferry used to sail to Melbourne.
The double-ended Freshwater-class ferry cuts an iconic shape as it makes its way up and down Sydney Harbour New South Wales, Australia between Manly and Circular Quay.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, ferries connect Wellington in the North Island with Picton in the South Island, linking New Zealand's two main islands. The route is 92 kilometres (57 mi), and is run by two companies – government-owned Interislander, and independent Bluebridge, who say the trip takes three and half hours.
- MS Spirit of Tasmania II at port in Devonport, Australia.
- The Manly Ferry 'MV Freshwater'
Types
Ferry designs depend on the length of the route, the passenger or vehicle capacity required, speed requirements and the water conditions the craft must deal with.
Double-ended
Double-ended ferries have interchangeable bows and sterns, allowing them to shuttle back and forth between two terminals without having to turn around. Well-known double-ended ferry systems include the BC Ferries, the Staten Island Ferry, Washington State Ferries, Star Ferry, several ferries on the North Carolina Ferry System, and the Lake Champlain Transportation Company. Most Norwegian fjord and coastal ferries are double-ended vessels. All ferries from southern Prince Edward Island to the mainland of Canada were double-ended. This service was discontinued upon completion of the Confederation Bridge. Some ferries in Sydney, Australia and British Columbia are also double-ended. In 2008, BC Ferries launched the first of the Coastal-class ferries, which at the time were the world's largest double enders. These were surpassed as the world's largest double-enders when P&O Ferries launched their first double-ender, called the P&O Pioneer, which entered service in June 2023 replacing Pride of Kent.
Hydrofoil
Hydrofoils have the advantage of higher cruising speeds, succeeding hovercraft on some English Channel routes where the ferries now compete against the Eurotunnel and Eurostar trains that use the Channel Tunnel. Passenger-only hydrofoils also proved a practical, fast and relatively economical solution in the Canary Islands, but were recently replaced by faster catamaran "high speed" ferries that can carry cars. Their replacement by the larger craft is seen by critics as a retrograde step given that the new vessels use much more fuel and foster the inappropriate use of cars in islands already suffering from the impact of mass tourism.
Hovercraft
Hovercraft were developed in the 1960s and 1970s to carry cars. The largest was the massive SR.N4 which carried cars in its centre section with ramps at the bow and stern between England and France. The hovercraft was superseded by catamarans which are nearly as fast and are less affected by sea and weather conditions. Only one service now remains, a foot passenger service between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight run by Hovertravel.
Catamaran
Since 1990 high speed catamarans have revolutionised ferry services, replacing hovercraft, hydrofoils and conventional monohull ferries. In the 1990s there were a variety of builders, but the industry has consolidated to two builders of large vehicular ferries between 60 and 120 metres. Incat of Hobart, Tasmania favours a Wave-piercing hull to deliver a smooth ride, while Austal of Perth, Western Australia builds ships based on SWATH designs. Both these companies also compete in the smaller river ferry industry with a number of other ship builders.
Stena Line once operated the largest catamarans in the world, the Stena HSS class, between the United Kingdom and Ireland. These waterjet-powered vessels, displaced 19,638 tonnes, accommodating 375 passenger cars and 1,500 passengers. Other examples of these super-size catamarans are found in the Condor Ferries fleet with the Condor Voyager and Rapide.
Roll-on/roll-off
Roll-on/roll-off ferries (RORO) are large conventional ferries named for the ease by which vehicles can board and leave.
Cruiseferry / RoPax
A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship with a roll-on/roll-off ferry. They are also known as RoPax for their combined Roll on/Roll Off and passenger design.
Fast RoPax ferry
Fast RoPax ferries are conventional ferries with a large garage intake and a relatively large passenger capacity, with conventional diesel propulsion and propellers that sail over 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph). Pioneering this class of ferries was Attica Group, when it introduced Superfast I between Greece and Italy in 1995 through its subsidiary company Superfast Ferries. Cabins, if existent, are much smaller than those on cruise ships.[citation needed]
Turntable ferry
This type of ferry allows vehicles to load from the "side". The vehicle platform can be turned. When loading, the platform is turned sideways to allow sideways loading of vehicles. Then the platform is turned back, in line with the vessel, and the journey across water is made.
Pontoon ferry
Pontoon ferries and flat-bottomed boats such as punts carry passengers and vehicles across rivers and lakes and are widely used in less-developed countries with large rivers where the cost of bridge construction is prohibitive. One or more vehicles are carried on such ferries with ramps at either end for vehicles or animals to board. Cable ferries are usually pontoon ferries. In the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany many such small cable ferries exist and are called püntes.
Train ferry
A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at either or both of the front and rear to give access to the wharves.
Foot ferry
Foot ferries are small craft used to ferry foot passengers, and often also cyclists, over rivers. These are either self-propelled craft or cable ferries. Such ferries are for example to be found on the lower River Scheldt in Belgium and in particular the Netherlands. Regular foot ferry service also exists in the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, and across the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia at Newport. Restored, expanded ferry service in the Port of New York and New Jersey uses boats for pedestrians only.
The UK has a variety of historic foot ferries such as the Butley Foot Ferry across which dates back to 1383.
Cable ferry
Very short distances may be crossed by a cable or chain ferry, which is usually a pontoon ferry (see above), where the ferry is propelled along and steered by cables connected to each shore. Sometimes the cable ferry is human powered by someone on the boat. Reaction ferries are cable ferries that use the perpendicular force of the current as a source of power. Examples of a current propelled ferry are the four Rhine ferries in Basel, Switzerland. Cable ferries may be used in fast-flowing rivers across short distances. With an ocean crossing of approximately 1900 metres, the cable ferry between Vancouver Island and Denman Island in British Columbia; is the longest one in the world.
Free ferries operate in some parts of the world, such as at Woolwich in London, England (across the River Thames); in Amsterdam, Netherlands (across the IJ waterway); along the Murray River in South Australia, and across many lakes in British Columbia. Many cable ferries operate on lakes and rivers in Canada, among them a cable ferry that charges a toll operates on the Rivière des Prairies between Laval-sur-le-Lac and Île Bizard in Quebec, Canada. In Finland there were 40 road ferries (cable ferries) in 2009, on lakes, rivers and on sea between islands.
Air ferries
In the 1950s and 1960s, travel on an "air ferry" was possible—airplanes, often ex-military, specially equipped to take a small number of cars in addition to foot passengers. These operated various routes including between the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Companies operating such services included Channel Air Bridge, Silver City Airways, and Corsair.
The term is also applied to any "ferrying" by air, and is commonly used when referring to airborne military operations.
Docking
Ferries often dock at specialized facilities designed to position the boat for loading and unloading, called a ferry slip. If the ferry transports road vehicles or railway carriages there will usually be an adjustable ramp called an apron that is part of the slip. In other cases, the apron ramp will be a part of the ferry itself, acting as a wave guard when elevated and lowered to meet a fixed ramp at the terminus – a road segment that extends partially underwater or meet the ferry slip.
Records
Gross tonnage
The world's largest ferries are typically those operated in Europe, with different vessels holding the record depending on whether length, gross tonnage or car vehicle capacity is the metric.
Oldest
The sole contender as oldest ferry in continuous operation is the Mersey Ferry from Liverpool to Birkenhead, England. In 1150, the Benedictine Priory at Birkenhead was established. The monks used to charge a small fare to row passengers across the estuary. In 1330, Edward III granted a charter to the Priory and its successors for ever: "the right of ferry there... for men, horses and goods, with leave to charge reasonable tolls". However, there may have been a short break following the Dissolution of the monasteries after 1536.
On 11 October 1811, inventor John Stevens' ship the Juliana, began operation as the first steam-powered ferry (service was between New York City, and Hoboken, New Jersey).
The Elwell Ferry, a cable ferry in North Carolina, travels a distance of 110 yards (100 m), shore to shore, with a travel time of five minutes.
Largest networks
- Waxholmsbolaget – 21 vessels serving around 300 ports of call in the Stockholm archipelago.
- Istanbul Ferry Network – 87 vessels serving 86 ports of call in and around the Bosporus of Istanbul, Turkey.
- BC Ferries – 36 vessels serving 47 ports of call along the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, carrying 22.3 million passengers annually.
- Caledonian MacBrayne – 31 vessels serving 50 ports of call along the west coast of Scotland, carrying 1.43 million passengers annually.
- Sydney Ferries – 31 vessels serving 36 ports of call in Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), carrying 15.3 million passengers annually.
- Washington State Ferries – 21 vessels serving 20 ports of call around Puget Sound of Washington, United States, carrying 24.2 million passengers annually.
- Metrolink Queensland – 21 vessels serving 26 ports of call along the Brisbane River in Brisbane, Australia, carrying 2.7 million passengers annually.
- Société des traversiers du Québec
Busiest networks
- Istanbul Ferry Network – 40 million passengers annually.
- Washington State Ferries – 24.2 million passengers annually.
- Staten Island Ferry in New York City – 23.9 million passengers annually; busiest single-line ferry in the world.
- Amsterdam GVB Ferries – 22.4 million passengers annually.
- BC Ferries – 22.3 million passengers annually.
- Star Ferry in Hong Kong – 19.7 million passengers annually.
Fastest
The gas turbine powered Luciano Federico L operated by Montevideo-based Buquebus, holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest car ferry in the world, in service between Montevideo, Uruguay and Buenos Aires, Argentina: its maximum speed, achieved in sea trials, was 60.2 knots (111.5 km/h; 69.3 mph). It can carry 450 passengers and 52 cars along the 110-nautical-mile (200 km; 130 mi) route.
Sustainability
The contributions of ferry travel to climate change have received less scrutiny than land and air transport, and vary considerably according to factors like speed and the number of passengers carried. Average carbon dioxide emissions by ferries per passenger-kilometre seem to be 0.12 kg (4.2 oz). However, 18-knot (21 mph; 33 km/h) ferries between Finland and Sweden produce 0.221 kg (7.8 oz) of CO2, with total emissions equalling a CO2 equivalent of 0.223 kg (7.9 oz), while 24–27-knot (28–31 mph; 44–50 km/h) ferries between Finland and Estonia produce 0.396 kg (14.0 oz) of CO2 with total emissions equalling a CO2 equivalent of 0.4 kg (14 oz).
Alternative fuels
With the price of oil at high levels, and with increasing pressure from consumers for measures to tackle global warming, a number of innovations for energy and the environment were put forward at the Interferry conference in Stockholm. According to the company Solar Sailor, hybrid marine power and solar wing technology are suitable for use with ferries, private yachts and even tankers.
Alternative fuels are becoming more widespread on ferries. The fastest passenger ferry in the world Buquebus, runs on LNG, while Sweden's Stena converted one of its ferries to run on both diesel and methanol in 2015. Both LNG and methanol reduce CO2 emissions considerably and replace costly diesel fuel.
Megawatt-class battery electric ferries operate in Scandinavia, with several more scheduled for operation. As of 2017, the world's biggest purely electric ferry was the MF Tycho Brahe, which operates on the Helsingør–Helsingborg ferry route across the Øresund between Denmark and Sweden. The ferry weights 8414 tonnes, and has an electric storage capacity of more than 4 MWh.
Since 2015, Norwegian ferry company Norled has operated e-ferry Ampere on the Lavik-Opedal connection on the E39 north of Bergen. Further north on the Norwegian west coast, the connection between Anda and Lote will be the world's first route served only by e-ferries. The first of two ships, MF Gloppefjord, was put into service in January 2018, followed by MF Eidsfjord. The owner, Fjord1, has commissioned a further seven battery-powered ferries to be in operation from 2020. A total of 60 battery powered car ferries are expected to be operational in Norway by 2021.
Since 15 August 2019, Ærø Municipality have operated E-ferry Ellen between the southern Danish ports of Fynshav and Søby, on the island of Ærø. The e-ferry is capable of carrying 30 vehicles and 200 passengers and is powered by a battery "with an unprecedented capacity" of 4.3 MWh (5,800 hp⋅h). The vessel can sail up to 22 nautical miles (25 mi; 41 km) between charges – seven times further than previously possible for an e-ferry. It will now need to prove it can provide up to seven return trips per day. The European Union, which supported the project, aims to roll out 100 or more of these ferries by 2030.
A special feature is the Danish Udbyhøj cable ferry in Randers Fjord which has a land-based power supply by means of a retractable submarine cable.
Accidents
The following notable maritime disasters involved ferries:
- TEV Wahine – (10 April 1968) 53 deaths
- MV Namyoug-Ho (15 December 1970) 323–326 deaths
- MV George Prince (20 October 1976) 78 deaths
- MS Herald of Free Enterprise – (6 March 1987) 193 deaths
- MV Doña Paz – (20 December 1987) 4,386 deaths
- MV Doña Marilyn – (24 October 1988) ≈400 deaths
- MS Scandinavian Star – (7 April 1990) 159 deaths
- MV Salem Express – (15 December 1991) 470–850 deaths
- MS Empress of Australia – (23 August 1992) 30 deaths
- MS Jan Heweliusz – (14 January 1993) 55 deaths
- MV Seohae – (10 October 1993) 292 deaths
- MS Estonia – (28 September 1994) 852 deaths
- MV Cebu City – (2 December 1994) 140 deaths
- MV Bukoba – (21 May 1996) 894 deaths
- MV Princess of the Orient – (18 September 1998) 150 deaths
- MS Express Samina – (26 September 2000) 81 deaths
- MV Le Joola – (26 September 2002) 1,863 deaths
- MV Princess of the Stars – (21 June 2008) 814 deaths
- MV Spice Islander I – (10 September 2011) 1,573 deaths
- MV Rabaul Queen – (2 February 2012) 88–223 deaths
- MV Skagit – (18 July 2012) 150 deaths
- MV St. Thomas Aquinas – (16 August 2013) 137 deaths
- MV Sewol – (16 April 2014) 304 deaths
- MV Nyerere – (20 September 2018) 228 deaths
See also
- Chain boat
- Ferry slip
- Linkspan
- List of ferry operators
- Punt (boat)
- Pünte
- Sea tractor
- Team boat
- Transporter bridge
- Merchant Vessel
References
Notes
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...passenger ferries (locally called as "launch")...
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Bibliography
- Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). . Encyclopedia Americana.
- Robins, Nick (1996). The Evolution of the British Ferry. Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire: Ferry Publications. ISBN 1871947316.
- "When Horses Walked on Water: Horse-Powered Ferries in Nineteenth-Century America" (Smithsonian Institution Press; Kevin Crisman, co-authored with Arthur Cohn, executive director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum).
External links
- "Off Ferries, New And Old", May 1931, Popular Science
- Photography of European locations visitable by ferry
- "Ferry to Ireland from the UK"
- Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. .
A ferry is a boat that transports passengers and occasionally vehicles and cargo across a body of water A small passenger ferry with multiple stops like those in Venice Italy is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus Ferries form a part of the public transport systems of many waterside cities and islands allowing direct transit between points at a capital cost much lower than bridges or tunnels Ship connections of much larger distances such as over long distances in water bodies like the Baltic Sea may also be called ferry services and many carry vehicles HistoryThe profession of the ferryman is embodied in Greek mythology in Charon the boatman who transported souls across the River Styx to the Underworld Speculation that a pair of oxen propelled a ship having a water wheel can be found in 4th century Roman literature Anonymus De Rebus Bellicis Though impractical there is no reason why it could not work and such a ferry modified by using horses was used in Lake Champlain in 19th century America See Experiment horse powered boat In 1850 the roll on roll off ro ro ferry Leviathan designed to carry freight wagons efficiently across the Firth of Forth in Scotland started to operate between Granton near Edinburgh and Burntisland in Fife The vessel design was highly innovative and the ability to move freight in great quantities and with minimal labour signalled the way ahead for sea borne transport converting the ro ro ferry from an experimental and marginal ship type into one of central importance in the transport of goods and passengers In 1871 the world s first car ferry crossed the Bosphorus in Istanbul The iron steamship named Suhulet meaning ease or convenience was designed by the general manager of Sirket i Hayriye Bosporus Steam Navigation Company Giritli Huseyin Haki Bey and built by the Greenwich shipyard of Maudslay Sons and Field It weighed 157 tons was 155 feet 47 meters long 27 feet 8 2 meters wide and had a draft of 9 feet 2 7 meters It was capable of travelling up to 6 knots with the side wheel turned by its 450 horsepower single cylinder two cycle steam engine Launched in 1872 Suhulet s unique features consisted of a symmetrical entry and exit for horse carriages along with a dual system of hatchways The ferry operated on the Uskudar Kabatas route which is still serviced by modern ferries today Notable servicesAsia In Hong Kong Star Ferry carries passengers across Victoria Harbour Other carriers ferry travelers between Hong Kong Island and outlying islands like Cheung Chau Lantau Island and Lamma Island In the Philippines the Philippine Nautical Highway System forms the backbone of the nationwide transport system by integrating ports with highway systems the system has three main routes Another known ferry service is the Pasig River Ferry Service which is the only water based transportation in Metro Manila This system cruises the Pasig River Bangladesh Part of this section is transcluded from Transport in Bangladesh edit history The country s extensive river network makes ferries a practical and affordable mode of transport Passenger ferries locally referred to as launches are widely used to travel to the southern and south western regions of Bangladesh from the capital The most popular destinations include Barisal Bhola Patuakhali and Khulna Additionally there are water transport routes connecting Dhaka with Kolkata in India A triple decker launch passenger ferry on a river in Bangladesh Approximately 200 launches operate across 107 water routes throughout the country as of 2022 update To support the launch services the BIWTA has developed 292 wharfs ghats for the docking of these vessels and oversees 380 launch terminals There are 53 roll on roll off ferries running on seven routes across the country Paturia Daulatdia Aricha Kazirhat Shimulia Banglabazar Bhola Lakshmipur Lajarhat Veduria Char Kalipur Kalipur Bazar and Harinaghat Chandpur Shariatpur More than 800 000 small and medium wooden sailboats and rowboats often retrofitted to be motorised are an important means of transportation for people and goods across the country especially during the rainy season These boats transport over 1 2 million tonnes of freight annually Among these are the dingi which is the oldest form of Bengal boat Larger cargo boats includes vessels such as the balam bajra and sampan Under the category of bainkata flat bottomed boats are the ghasi gachari dorakha kathami mallar patam and panshi among others Ubiquitous throughout Bangladesh especially in monsoon flood prone regions is the kosha a small highly manoeuvrable boat that is easy to operate These various traditional wooden boats play a vital role in providing transportation during the rainy season when other modes become impractical due to flooding The ferries are often overloaded and continue to operate in poor weather many people die each year in ferry and launch accidents From 2005 to 2015 nearly 1 800 casualties have been reported due to river transport incidents a number which may be higher due to the prevalence of unregistered vessels In 2014 the launch Pinak 6 sank in the Padma River with more than 200 passengers aboard near Munshiganj s Louhajang Upazila India India s ro ro ferry service between Ghogha and Dahej was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 October 2017 It aims to connect South Gujarat and Saurashtra currently separated by 360 kilometres 220 mi of roadway to 31 kilometres 19 mi of ferry service It is a part of the larger Sagar Mala project Water transport in Mumbai consists of ferries hovercraft and catamarans operated by various government agencies as well as private entities The Kerala State Water Transport Department SWTD operating under the Ministry of Transport Government of Kerala India regulates the inland navigation systems in the Indian state of Kerala and provides inland water transport facilities It stands for catering to the passenger and cargo traffic needs of the inhabitants of the waterlogged areas of the Districts of Alappuzha Kottayam Kollam Ernakulam Kannur and Kasargode SWTD ferry service is also one of the most affordable modes to enjoy the beauty of the scenic Kerala backwaters Ferry operates between Port Blair Havelock amp Neil Islands in the Andaman Islands while Boat Operates For Ross Island North Bay Elephanta Beach Red Skin Jolly Bouy Ferries and catamarans are operated by Green Ocean Makruzz ITT Majestic Nautika Indonesia As the largest archipelagic country Indonesia has several ferry routes which is managed mostly by PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry Persero and several private companies ASDP Indonesia Ferry or ASDP is a state owned company engaged in the business of integrated ferry and port services and waterfront tourist destinations ASDP operates a ferry fleet of more than 160 units handling more than 300 routes in 36 ports throughout Indonesia Japan Japan used to rely heavily on ferries for passenger and goods transportation among the four main islands of Hokkaido Honshu Shikoku and Kyushu However as highway and railway bridges and undersea tunnels such as the Seikan Tunnel and Honshu Shikoku Bridge Project have been constructed the ferry transportation has recently become for short distance sightseeing passengers with or without car and for long distance truck drivers hauling goods The number of actual seats has traditionally been very limited like on this Japanese passenger ferry with larger spaces dedicated to tatami or areas where passengers can sit or lie down on Shikoku and Kyushu ferry 2014 Inside a short distance ferry the ja Kagoshima Japan 2023 Long distance ferries are also used by motorcyclists Ocean Tokyu Ferry 2019 A second class cabin on the ferry connecting Tokyo and Kitakyushu A simple bed with curtains Ocean Tokyu Ferry 2019 Malaysia A catamaran off the Raja Tun Uda Ferry Terminal in George Town Penang c 2025 The Malaysian state of Penang is home to the oldest ferry service in the country The first regular ferry service operating across the Penang Strait between George Town and Province Wellesley now Seberang Perai was launched in 1894 by Quah Beng Kee and his brothers The iconic yellow double deck roll on roll off RORO ferries were introduced in 1957 Between 1959 and 2002 a total of 15 vessels were commissioned for the service Currently operated by the Penang Port Commission the ferry service has evolved over the decades The RORO ferries were retired in 2021 with speedboats temporarily replacing them In 2023 these speedboats were succeeded by four newly built catamarans which now serve only passengers and motorcyclists These catamarans operate between the Raja Tun Uda Ferry Terminal in George Town and the Sultan Abdul Halim Ferry Terminal in Seberang Perai Russian Federation Due to the geographical features of Russia it has a large number of both sea and river ferry crossings Car ferries operate from the continental part of Russia to Sakhalin Kamchatka and Japan The Ust Luga Kaliningrad ferry also runs until February 2022 ferries also ran from St Petersburg to different cities of the Baltic Sea Before the construction of the Kerch Bridge there was a ferry across the Kerch Strait whose service was resumed after the Kerch bridge explosion There are also more than 100 ferry crossings on different rivers in Russia These are usually symmetrical through ferries with two ramps for quick entry and exit of cars For some categories of car owners these ferries may be free if there is no alternative crossing of the river Europe Great Britain The busiest seaway in the world the English Channel connects Great Britain and mainland Europe with ships sailing from the UK ports of Dover Newhaven Poole Portsmouth and Plymouth to French ports such as Calais Dunkirk Dieppe Roscoff Cherbourg Octeville Caen St Malo and Le Havre The busiest ferry route to France is the Dover to Calais crossing with approximately 9 168 000 passengers using the service in 2018 Ferries from Great Britain also sail to Belgium the Netherlands Norway Spain and Ireland Some ferries carry mainly tourist traffic but most also carry freight and some are exclusively for the use of freight lorries In Britain car carrying ferries are sometimes referred to as RORO roll on roll off for the ease by which vehicles can board and leave Denmark The busiest single ferry route in terms of the number of departures is across the northern part of Oresund between Helsingborg Scania Sweden and Elsinore Denmark Before the Oresund bridge was opened in July 2000 car and car and train ferries departed up to seven times every hour every 8 5 minutes This has since been reduced but a car ferry still departs from each harbor every 15 minutes during daytime The route is around 2 2 nautical miles 4 1 km 2 5 mi and the crossing takes 22 minutes Today all ferries on this route are constructed so that they do not need to turn around in the harbors This also means that the ferries lack stems and sterns since the vessels sail in both directions Starboard and port side are dynamic depending on the direction the ferry sails Despite the short crossing the ferries are equipped with restaurants on three out of four ferries cafeterias and kiosks Passengers without cars often make a double or triple return journey in the restaurants for this a single journey ticket is sufficient Passenger and bicycle passenger tickets are inexpensive compared with longer routes Baltic Sea Large cruiseferries sail in the Baltic Sea between Finland Aland Sweden Estonia Latvia and Saint Petersburg Russia In many ways these ferries are like cruise ships but they can also carry hundreds of cars on car decks Besides providing passenger and car transport across the sea are a popular tourist destination unto themselves with multiple restaurants nightclubs bars shops and entertainment on board Helsinki was the busiest international passenger ferry port in the world in 2017 with over 11 8 million passengers whilst the second business international ferry port Dover had 11 7 million passengers The Helsinki Tallinn route alone accounted for nine million passengers In 2022 the port of Helsinki had almost 8 million passengers of which 6 3 million travelled between Helsinki and Tallinn Additionally many smaller ferries operate on domestic routes in Finland Sweden and Estonia The south west and southern parts of the Baltic Sea has several routes mainly for heavy traffic and cars The ferry routes of Rodby Puttgarden Trelleborg Rostock Trelleborg Travemunde Trelleborg Swinoujscie Gedser Rostock Gdynia Karlskrona and Ystad Swinoujscie are all typical transports ferries On the longer of these routes simple cabins are available Some of these routes previously also carried trains but since 2020 these trains are instead routed around the Baltic via the Great Belt fixed link and Jutland Turkey In Istanbul ferries connect the European and Asian shores of Bosphorus as well as Princes Islands and nearby coastal towns In 2014 IDO transported 47 million passengers the largest ferry system in the world Italy The Rialto water taxi station in Venice Italy The largest ferry system in Italy is in Venice The city s water taxis Italian taxi d acqua provide service all around the city s canals They can carry up to 10 people They operate on a series of lines that stop at different locations around Venice Sweden The world s shortest ferry line is the Ferry Lina in Toreboda Sweden It takes around 20 25 seconds and is hand powered MS Silja Symphony leaving Helsinki via the Kustaanmiekka strait to the Baltic Sea Ro Pax Festos Palace in Piraeus Greece A road ferry between Oulu and the Hailuoto Island on the Bothnian BayM S Gullbritt in the Gullmar Fjord close to Lysekil Sweden Sweden has many of these yellow ferries that are run by the Swedish Transport Administration Almost all of them are free of charge North America Canada Due to the numbers of large freshwater lakes and length of shoreline in Canada various provinces and territories have ferry services BC Ferries operates the third largest ferry service in the world which carries travellers between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland on the country s west coast This ferry service operates to other islands including the Gulf Islands and Haida Gwaii In 2015 BC Ferries carried more than 8 million vehicles and 20 million passengers In Vancouver there is SeaBus Canada s east coast has been home to numerous inter and intra provincial ferry and coastal services including a large network operated by the federal government under CN Marine and later Marine Atlantic Private and publicly owned ferry operations in eastern Canada include Marine Atlantic serving the island of Newfoundland as well as Bay NFL CTMA Coastal Transport and STQ Canadian waters in the Great Lakes once hosted numerous ferry services but these have been reduced to those offered by Owen Sound Transportation and several smaller operations There are also several commuter passenger ferry services operated in major cities such as Metro Transit in Halifax and Toronto Island ferries in Toronto There is also the Societe des traversiers du Quebec United States Due to the North Carolina coast s geography consisting of numerous sounds inlets tidal arms and islands ferry transportation is essential in the region The state operates twelve routes eight of which are under the oversight of the North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division three of which are under the direct oversight of the North Carolina Department of Transportation and one of which is under the oversight of the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation Three of the Ferry Division routes are tolled and all ferry routes operated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation carry both vehicles and pedestrians although certain vessels only carry pedestrians and cyclists The National Park Service additionally works with private companies to offer ferry service to locations such as Cape Lookout and Portsmouth Washington State Ferries operates the most extensive ferry system in the continental United States and the second largest in the world by vehicles carried with ten routes on Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca serving terminals in Washington and Vancouver Island In 2016 Washington State Ferries carried 10 5 million vehicles and 24 2 million riders in total The Alaska Marine Highway System provides service between Bellingham Washington and various towns and villages throughout Southeast and Southwest Alaska including crossings of the Gulf of Alaska AMHS provides affordable access to many small communities with no road connection or airport The Staten Island Ferry in New York City sailing between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island is the nation s single busiest ferry route by passenger volume Unlike riders on many other ferry services Staten Island Ferry passengers do not pay any fare to ride it New York City also has a network of smaller ferries or water taxis that shuttle commuters along the Hudson River from locations in New Jersey and Northern Manhattan down to the midtown downtown and Wall Street business centers Several ferry companies also offer service linking midtown and lower Manhattan with locations in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn crossing the city s East River New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in February 2015 that city would begin an expanded Citywide Ferry Service and launched as NYC Ferry in 2017 linking heretofore relatively isolated communities such as Manhattan s Lower East Side Soundview in The Bronx Astoria and the Rockaways in Queens and such Brooklyn neighborhoods as Bay Ridge Sunset Park and Red Hook with existing ferry landings in Lower Manhattan and Midtown Manhattan A second expansion phase connected Staten Island to the West Side of Manhattan and added a stop in Throgs Neck in the Bronx NYC Ferry is now the largest passenger fleet in the United States The New Orleans area also has many ferries that carry both vehicles and pedestrians Most notable is the Algiers Ferry which has been in continuous operation since 1827 and is one of the oldest operating ferries in North America In New England vehicle carrying ferry services between mainland Cape Cod and the islands of Martha s Vineyard and Nantucket are operated by The Woods Hole Martha s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority which sails year round between Woods Hole and Vineyard Haven as well as Hyannis and Nantucket Seasonal service is also operated from Woods Hole to Oak Bluffs during the summer and fall As there are no bridges or tunnels connecting the islands to the mainland The Steamship Authority ferries in addition to being the only method for transporting private cars to or from the islands also ferry heavy freight and supplies such as construction materials and fuel competing with tug and barge companies Additionally Hy Line Cruises operates high speed catamaran service from Hyannis to both islands and several smaller operations run seasonal passenger only service primarily geared towards tourist day trippers from other mainland ports including New Bedford New Bedford Fast Ferry Falmouth Island Queen ferry and Falmouth Ferry and Harwich Freedom Cruise Line Ferries also bring riders and vehicles across Long Island Sound to such Connecticut cities as Bridgeport and New London and to Block Island in Rhode Island from points on Long Island Transbay commuting in the San Francisco Bay Area was primarily ferry based until the advent of automobiles in the 1940s and most bridges in the area were built to supplant ferry services By the 1970s ferries were primarily used by tourists with Golden Gate Ferry an organization under the ownership of the same governing body as the Golden Gate Bridge left as the sole commute operator The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake prompted the restoration of service to the East Bay The modern ferry network is primarily under the authority of San Francisco Bay Ferry connecting with cities as far as Vallejo Tourist excursions are also offered by Blue amp Gold Fleet and Red amp White Fleet A ferry serves Angel Island which also accepts private craft Alcatraz is served exclusively by ferry service administered by the National Park Service Until the completion of the Mackinac Bridge in the 1950s ferries were used for vehicle transportation between the Lower and the Upper Peninsulas of Michigan across the Straits of Mackinac in the United States Ferry service for bicycles and passengers continues across the straits for transport to Mackinac Island where motorized vehicles are almost completely prohibited This crossing is made possible by two ferry lines Shepler s Ferry and Mackinac Island Ferry Company formerly Star Line A ferry service runs between Milwaukee Wisconsin and Muskegon Michigan operated by Lake Express Another ferry SS Badger operates between Manitowoc Wisconsin and Ludington Michigan Both cross Lake Michigan Numerous additional inland ferry routes exist in the United States such as the Cave In Rock Ferry across the Ohio River and the Benton Houston Ferry across the Tennessee River Modernization of ferry system The FTA announced in September 2024 that it would award 300 million in grants to modernize ferry systems in the United States These grants will support 18 projects across 14 states emphasizing upgrading environmentally friendly propulsion systems Eight of the 18 projects will receive funding for this purpose One notable project is the San Francisco ferry system which will receive 11 5 million to improve the connection between Treasure Island and Mission Bay In Maine the ferry system will be upgraded in Lincolnville and Islesboro Additionally Alaska will receive a significant 106 4 million grant to replace a 60 year old vessel operating in the southwest This vessel is a crucial connector for the region These grants are part of the FTA s efforts to improve ferry transportation in the United States and promote sustainable transportation options Mexico Mexico has ferry services run by Baja Ferries that connect La Paz located on the Baja California Peninsula with Mazatlan and Topolobampo Passenger ferries also run from Playa del Carmen to the island of Cozumel MV Spirit of Vancouver Island en route to Tsawwassen from Swartz Bay Route 1 is BC Ferries busiest route The MV Spokane sailing from Edmonds to Kingston one of ten routes served by Washington State Ferries Alaska Marine Highway System ferries MV LeConte and MV Kennicott near Juneau AlaskaSouth America There are several ferries in South America Chacao Channel has ferry lines Oceania Australia In Australia two Spirit of Tasmania ferries carry passengers and vehicles 450 kilometres 280 mi across Bass Strait the body of water that separates Tasmania from the Australian mainland often under turbulent sea conditions These run overnight but also include day crossings in peak time Both ferries are based in the northern Tasmanian port city of Devonport and sail to Geelong Before Geelong this ferry used to sail to Melbourne The double ended Freshwater class ferry cuts an iconic shape as it makes its way up and down Sydney Harbour New South Wales Australia between Manly and Circular Quay New Zealand In New Zealand ferries connect Wellington in the North Island with Picton in the South Island linking New Zealand s two main islands The route is 92 kilometres 57 mi and is run by two companies government owned Interislander and independent Bluebridge who say the trip takes three and half hours MS Spirit of Tasmania II at port in Devonport Australia The Manly Ferry MV Freshwater TypesFerry designs depend on the length of the route the passenger or vehicle capacity required speed requirements and the water conditions the craft must deal with Double ended Ferry in Ontario Manitoulin Island vehicles load via the front and back of the ferry opening hull Double ended ferries have interchangeable bows and sterns allowing them to shuttle back and forth between two terminals without having to turn around Well known double ended ferry systems include the BC Ferries the Staten Island Ferry Washington State Ferries Star Ferry several ferries on the North Carolina Ferry System and the Lake Champlain Transportation Company Most Norwegian fjord and coastal ferries are double ended vessels All ferries from southern Prince Edward Island to the mainland of Canada were double ended This service was discontinued upon completion of the Confederation Bridge Some ferries in Sydney Australia and British Columbia are also double ended In 2008 BC Ferries launched the first of the Coastal class ferries which at the time were the world s largest double enders These were surpassed as the world s largest double enders when P amp O Ferries launched their first double ender called the P amp O Pioneer which entered service in June 2023 replacing Pride of Kent Hydrofoil Hydrofoils have the advantage of higher cruising speeds succeeding hovercraft on some English Channel routes where the ferries now compete against the Eurotunnel and Eurostar trains that use the Channel Tunnel Passenger only hydrofoils also proved a practical fast and relatively economical solution in the Canary Islands but were recently replaced by faster catamaran high speed ferries that can carry cars Their replacement by the larger craft is seen by critics as a retrograde step given that the new vessels use much more fuel and foster the inappropriate use of cars in islands already suffering from the impact of mass tourism Hovercraft Mark 3 SR N4 hovercraft Dover Hovercraft were developed in the 1960s and 1970s to carry cars The largest was the massive SR N4 which carried cars in its centre section with ramps at the bow and stern between England and France The hovercraft was superseded by catamarans which are nearly as fast and are less affected by sea and weather conditions Only one service now remains a foot passenger service between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight run by Hovertravel Catamaran Incat built Catamaran HSC Manannan entering Douglas Isle of Man Since 1990 high speed catamarans have revolutionised ferry services replacing hovercraft hydrofoils and conventional monohull ferries In the 1990s there were a variety of builders but the industry has consolidated to two builders of large vehicular ferries between 60 and 120 metres Incat of Hobart Tasmania favours a Wave piercing hull to deliver a smooth ride while Austal of Perth Western Australia builds ships based on SWATH designs Both these companies also compete in the smaller river ferry industry with a number of other ship builders Stena Line once operated the largest catamarans in the world the Stena HSS class between the United Kingdom and Ireland These waterjet powered vessels displaced 19 638 tonnes accommodating 375 passenger cars and 1 500 passengers Other examples of these super size catamarans are found in the Condor Ferries fleet with the Condor Voyager and Rapide Roll on roll off Lorries preparing to unload from the Pont Aven the Brittany Ferries flagship Roll on roll off ferries RORO are large conventional ferries named for the ease by which vehicles can board and leave Cruiseferry RoPax A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship with a roll on roll off ferry They are also known as RoPax for their combined Roll on Roll Off and passenger design Fast RoPax ferry MS Superfast XI Fast RoPax ferries are conventional ferries with a large garage intake and a relatively large passenger capacity with conventional diesel propulsion and propellers that sail over 25 knots 46 km h 29 mph Pioneering this class of ferries was Attica Group when it introduced Superfast I between Greece and Italy in 1995 through its subsidiary company Superfast Ferries Cabins if existent are much smaller than those on cruise ships citation needed Turntable ferry Turntable ferry MV Glenachulish operating between Glenelg on the Scottish mainland and Kylerhea on the Isle of Skye Built in 1969 she is the last manually operated turntable ferry in the world This type of ferry allows vehicles to load from the side The vehicle platform can be turned When loading the platform is turned sideways to allow sideways loading of vehicles Then the platform is turned back in line with the vessel and the journey across water is made Pontoon ferry The Lower Kingswear to Dartmouth ferry Devon England The pontoon carries eight cars and is towed across the River Dart by a small tug Two ropes connect the tug to the pontoon Pontoon ferries and flat bottomed boats such as punts carry passengers and vehicles across rivers and lakes and are widely used in less developed countries with large rivers where the cost of bridge construction is prohibitive One or more vehicles are carried on such ferries with ramps at either end for vehicles or animals to board Cable ferries are usually pontoon ferries In the Netherlands Belgium and Germany many such small cable ferries exist and are called puntes Train ferry Train and car ferry between Calabria and Sicily Italy A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles Typically one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks and the vessel has a door at either or both of the front and rear to give access to the wharves Foot ferry Foot ferries are small craft used to ferry foot passengers and often also cyclists over rivers These are either self propelled craft or cable ferries Such ferries are for example to be found on the lower River Scheldt in Belgium and in particular the Netherlands Regular foot ferry service also exists in the capital of the Czech Republic Prague and across the Yarra River in Melbourne Australia at Newport Restored expanded ferry service in the Port of New York and New Jersey uses boats for pedestrians only The UK has a variety of historic foot ferries such as the Butley Foot Ferry across which dates back to 1383 Cable ferry One of several self propelled cable ferries that cross the lower reaches of the Murray River in South Australia Very short distances may be crossed by a cable or chain ferry which is usually a pontoon ferry see above where the ferry is propelled along and steered by cables connected to each shore Sometimes the cable ferry is human powered by someone on the boat Reaction ferries are cable ferries that use the perpendicular force of the current as a source of power Examples of a current propelled ferry are the four Rhine ferries in Basel Switzerland Cable ferries may be used in fast flowing rivers across short distances With an ocean crossing of approximately 1900 metres the cable ferry between Vancouver Island and Denman Island in British Columbia is the longest one in the world Free ferries operate in some parts of the world such as at Woolwich in London England across the River Thames in Amsterdam Netherlands across the IJ waterway along the Murray River in South Australia and across many lakes in British Columbia Many cable ferries operate on lakes and rivers in Canada among them a cable ferry that charges a toll operates on the Riviere des Prairies between Laval sur le Lac and Ile Bizard in Quebec Canada In Finland there were 40 road ferries cable ferries in 2009 on lakes rivers and on sea between islands Air ferriesIn the 1950s and 1960s travel on an air ferry was possible airplanes often ex military specially equipped to take a small number of cars in addition to foot passengers These operated various routes including between the United Kingdom and Continental Europe Companies operating such services included Channel Air Bridge Silver City Airways and Corsair The term is also applied to any ferrying by air and is commonly used when referring to airborne military operations DockingDrawbridge of the ferry lies on the ferry slip This double sided ferry measures 74 m 17 5 m 243 ft 57 ft and carries 2000 passengers with 60 cars Ferries often dock at specialized facilities designed to position the boat for loading and unloading called a ferry slip If the ferry transports road vehicles or railway carriages there will usually be an adjustable ramp called an apron that is part of the slip In other cases the apron ramp will be a part of the ferry itself acting as a wave guard when elevated and lowered to meet a fixed ramp at the terminus a road segment that extends partially underwater or meet the ferry slip RecordsGross tonnage The world s largest ferries are typically those operated in Europe with different vessels holding the record depending on whether length gross tonnage or car vehicle capacity is the metric Oldest The sole contender as oldest ferry in continuous operation is the Mersey Ferry from Liverpool to Birkenhead England In 1150 the Benedictine Priory at Birkenhead was established The monks used to charge a small fare to row passengers across the estuary In 1330 Edward III granted a charter to the Priory and its successors for ever the right of ferry there for men horses and goods with leave to charge reasonable tolls However there may have been a short break following the Dissolution of the monasteries after 1536 On 11 October 1811 inventor John Stevens ship the Juliana began operation as the first steam powered ferry service was between New York City and Hoboken New Jersey The Elwell Ferry a cable ferry in North Carolina travels a distance of 110 yards 100 m shore to shore with a travel time of five minutes Largest networks Waxholmsbolaget 21 vessels serving around 300 ports of call in the Stockholm archipelago Istanbul Ferry Network 87 vessels serving 86 ports of call in and around the Bosporus of Istanbul Turkey BC Ferries 36 vessels serving 47 ports of call along the west coast of British Columbia Canada carrying 22 3 million passengers annually Caledonian MacBrayne 31 vessels serving 50 ports of call along the west coast of Scotland carrying 1 43 million passengers annually Sydney Ferries 31 vessels serving 36 ports of call in Port Jackson Sydney Harbour carrying 15 3 million passengers annually Washington State Ferries 21 vessels serving 20 ports of call around Puget Sound of Washington United States carrying 24 2 million passengers annually Metrolink Queensland 21 vessels serving 26 ports of call along the Brisbane River in Brisbane Australia carrying 2 7 million passengers annually Societe des traversiers du QuebecBusiest networks Istanbul Ferry Network 40 million passengers annually Washington State Ferries 24 2 million passengers annually Staten Island Ferry in New York City 23 9 million passengers annually busiest single line ferry in the world Amsterdam GVB Ferries 22 4 million passengers annually BC Ferries 22 3 million passengers annually Star Ferry in Hong Kong 19 7 million passengers annually Fastest The gas turbine powered Luciano Federico L operated by Montevideo based Buquebus holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest car ferry in the world in service between Montevideo Uruguay and Buenos Aires Argentina its maximum speed achieved in sea trials was 60 2 knots 111 5 km h 69 3 mph It can carry 450 passengers and 52 cars along the 110 nautical mile 200 km 130 mi route SustainabilityFast Ro Pax ferries like MS Star have notable CO2 emissions The contributions of ferry travel to climate change have received less scrutiny than land and air transport and vary considerably according to factors like speed and the number of passengers carried Average carbon dioxide emissions by ferries per passenger kilometre seem to be 0 12 kg 4 2 oz However 18 knot 21 mph 33 km h ferries between Finland and Sweden produce 0 221 kg 7 8 oz of CO2 with total emissions equalling a CO2 equivalent of 0 223 kg 7 9 oz while 24 27 knot 28 31 mph 44 50 km h ferries between Finland and Estonia produce 0 396 kg 14 0 oz of CO2 with total emissions equalling a CO2 equivalent of 0 4 kg 14 oz Alternative fuels With the price of oil at high levels and with increasing pressure from consumers for measures to tackle global warming a number of innovations for energy and the environment were put forward at the Interferry conference in Stockholm According to the company Solar Sailor hybrid marine power and solar wing technology are suitable for use with ferries private yachts and even tankers Alternative fuels are becoming more widespread on ferries The fastest passenger ferry in the world Buquebus runs on LNG while Sweden s Stena converted one of its ferries to run on both diesel and methanol in 2015 Both LNG and methanol reduce CO2 emissions considerably and replace costly diesel fuel Megawatt class battery electric ferries operate in Scandinavia with several more scheduled for operation As of 2017 the world s biggest purely electric ferry was the MF Tycho Brahe which operates on the Helsingor Helsingborg ferry route across the Oresund between Denmark and Sweden The ferry weights 8414 tonnes and has an electric storage capacity of more than 4 MWh Since 2015 Norwegian ferry company Norled has operated e ferry Ampere on the Lavik Opedal connection on the E39 north of Bergen Further north on the Norwegian west coast the connection between Anda and Lote will be the world s first route served only by e ferries The first of two ships MF Gloppefjord was put into service in January 2018 followed by MF Eidsfjord The owner Fjord1 has commissioned a further seven battery powered ferries to be in operation from 2020 A total of 60 battery powered car ferries are expected to be operational in Norway by 2021 E ferry Ellen Since 15 August 2019 AEro Municipality have operated E ferry Ellen between the southern Danish ports of Fynshav and Soby on the island of AEro The e ferry is capable of carrying 30 vehicles and 200 passengers and is powered by a battery with an unprecedented capacity of 4 3 MWh 5 800 hp h The vessel can sail up to 22 nautical miles 25 mi 41 km between charges seven times further than previously possible for an e ferry It will now need to prove it can provide up to seven return trips per day The European Union which supported the project aims to roll out 100 or more of these ferries by 2030 A special feature is the Danish Udbyhoj cable ferry in Randers Fjord which has a land based power supply by means of a retractable submarine cable AccidentsExamples of sunken ferriesImages in Order of Appearance MS Herald of Free Enterprise MV Salem Express MVPrincess of the Stars and MV Sewol The following notable maritime disasters involved ferries TEV Wahine 10 April 1968 53 deaths MV Namyoug Ho 15 December 1970 323 326 deaths MV George Prince 20 October 1976 78 deaths MS Herald of Free Enterprise 6 March 1987 193 deaths MV Dona Paz 20 December 1987 4 386 deaths MV Dona Marilyn 24 October 1988 400 deaths MS Scandinavian Star 7 April 1990 159 deaths MV Salem Express 15 December 1991 470 850 deaths MS Empress of Australia 23 August 1992 30 deaths MS Jan Heweliusz 14 January 1993 55 deaths MV Seohae 10 October 1993 292 deaths MS Estonia 28 September 1994 852 deaths MV Cebu City 2 December 1994 140 deaths MV Bukoba 21 May 1996 894 deaths MV Princess of the Orient 18 September 1998 150 deaths MS Express Samina 26 September 2000 81 deaths MV Le Joola 26 September 2002 1 863 deaths MV Princess of the Stars 21 June 2008 814 deaths MV Spice Islander I 10 September 2011 1 573 deaths MV Rabaul Queen 2 February 2012 88 223 deaths MV Skagit 18 July 2012 150 deaths MV St Thomas Aquinas 16 August 2013 137 deaths MV Sewol 16 April 2014 304 deaths MV Nyerere 20 September 2018 228 deathsSee alsoTransport portalChain boat Ferry slip Linkspan List of ferry operators Punt boat Punte Sea tractor Team boat Transporter bridge Merchant VesselReferencesNotes Bruce Peter Dawson Philip The Ferry A drive through history Isle of Man Ferry Publications p 9 Mary Mills 9 August 2013 MAUDSLAY SON AND FIELD S GREENWICH SHIPYARD Greenwich Peninsula History Retrieved 10 March 2024 Haque Ashraful 17 May 2022 Utilising waterways When common home goers show the way The Business Standard Retrieved 3 June 2024 Sourav Md Mohaimenul Islam Abeer Asif Ahmed Bhuiyan Abir Hasan 30 April 2024 Quantifications of service quality factors using the relative importance index method for passenger ferry service in Bangladesh Discover Civil Engineering 1 1 7 doi 10 1007 s44290 024 00008 8 ISSN 2948 1546 Iqbal Kho Shahriar Hasegawa Kazuhiko Bulian Gabriele Karim Md Mashud Ibn Awal Zobair October 2007 Passenger Ferry Accidents in Bangladesh Design and Socio economic Aspects PDF 10th International Symposium on Practical Design of Ships and Other Floating Structures Houston Texas American Bureau of Shipping passenger ferries locally called as launch Islam Nazrul 23 February 2017 A story of significant progress The Daily Star Retrieved 3 June 2024 Talukdar Kamal Hossain 23 June 2022 River transporters stare into an unknown future as Bangladesh s longest bridge appears bdnews24 com Retrieved 3 June 2024 Alam AKM Nurul 2012 Water Transport In Sirajul Islam Miah Sajahan Khanam Mahfuza Ahmed Sabbir eds Banglapedia the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh Online ed Dhaka Bangladesh Banglapedia Trust Asiatic Society of Bangladesh ISBN 984 32 0576 6 OCLC 52727562 OL 30677644M Retrieved 18 March 2025 Alam Mahbubul 2012 Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority In Sirajul Islam Miah Sajahan Khanam Mahfuza Ahmed Sabbir eds Banglapedia the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh Online ed Dhaka Bangladesh Banglapedia Trust Asiatic Society of Bangladesh ISBN 984 32 0576 6 OCLC 52727562 OL 30677644M Retrieved 18 March 2025 Akhter Shahin Biswas Shahjahan 28 October 2021 Most Bangladesh ferries run without fitness some after lifespan New Age Retrieved 4 June 2024 Nasreen Zobaida 2012 Boat In Sirajul Islam Miah Sajahan Khanam Mahfuza Ahmed Sabbir eds Banglapedia the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh Online ed Dhaka Bangladesh Banglapedia Trust Asiatic Society of Bangladesh ISBN 984 32 0576 6 OCLC 52727562 OL 30677644M Retrieved 18 March 2025 Sarkar Shihab 28 June 2019 Country boats Nation s ever living emblem The Financial Express Retrieved 4 June 2024 Uddin Md Imran Islam M Rafiqul Awal Zobair Ibn Newaz Kazi Md Shifun 2017 An Analysis of Accidents in the Inland Waterways of Bangladesh Lessons from a Decade 2005 2015 Procedia Engineering 194 291 297 doi 10 1016 j proeng 2017 08 148 Launch sinks in Padma with over 200 passengers bdnews24 com 4 August 2014 Retrieved 3 June 2024 Why Gujarat s Ro Ro ferry is a revolutionary step for Indian economy The Economic Times 22 October 2017 Archived from the original on 22 October 2017 Retrieved 22 October 2017 Aggregated ferry availability for Andaman Islands was first brought online by ferrybooking in allowing tourists and travellers to know about ferry schedule seat availability and make reservations online before arriving to Andaman Islands for Port blair to Havelock Havelock to Neil and Neil to Port Blair ferry routes ferrybooking in a href wiki Template Cite web title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Domestic Ferries JapanGuide com 2023 Archived from the original on 9 May 2023 Retrieved 8 June 2023 Japan Long Course Ferry Service Association Archived from the original on 8 June 2023 Retrieved 8 June 2023 Ferries in Japan Archived from the original on 8 June 2023 Retrieved 8 June 2023 Cheah Jin Seng 2013 Penang 500 Early Postcards Editions Didier Millet p 31 ISBN 9789671061718 Jeremy Tan 29 November 2023 Nostalgia of voyages past for Penang s iconic ferries The Star Retrieved 5 January 2025 Ferrarese Marco 8 August 2021 Beloved Penang ferries given new life as tourist attractions after being withdrawn from service South China Morning Post Retrieved 5 January 2025 Iconic Penang ferry sinks in Butterworth Free Malaysia Today 24 July 2024 Retrieved 5 January 2025 McIntyre Ian 8 December 2023 Penang Port to launch first sunset cruise on spanking new ferry The Vibes Retrieved 5 January 2025 Independent Regulators of Poole Harbour Poole Harbour Commissioners 16 November 2017 Archived from the original on 6 August 2020 Retrieved 31 July 2020 Ferry to France Statistics Passenger Numbers France Ferry Booker 18 November 2019 Archived from the original on 30 December 2019 Retrieved 18 November 2019 in Swedish Vi seglar var 15 e minut means We sail every 15 minutes Hhferries se Archived from the original on 3 February 2018 Retrieved 27 January 2018 in Finnish Helsinki nousi maailman vilkkaimmaksi matkustajasatamaksi YLE 17 January 2018 Archived from the original on 4 April 2023 Retrieved 10 October 2023 in Finnish Laivamatkustus tuplaantui Helsingin satamissa risteilyalukset olivat poikkeus Lansivayla 30 January 2023 Archived from the original on 25 March 2023 Retrieved 10 October 2023 Starr Stephen 28 May 2015 Istanbul shows ferries have a future The Guardian Archived from the original on 28 January 2018 Retrieved 27 January 2018 Venezia Taxi Venezia Taxi Retrieved 24 October 2024 Maddy 20 August 2023 Venice Water Taxi Everything You Need To Know 2024 Venice Travel Tips Retrieved 24 October 2024 Gota Canal 190 kilometres of boats bikes and shrimp sandwiches Scan Magazine 22 May 2018 Archived from the original on 4 July 2020 Retrieved 4 July 2020 Martinez Helena Farjan Lina toreboda se Toreboda kommun in Swedish Archived from the original on 4 July 2020 Retrieved 4 July 2020 Annual Report 2015 2016 British Columbia Ferry Service Inc amp B C Ferry Authority PDF Bcferries com Archived from the original PDF on 11 January 2017 Retrieved 27 January 2018 Ferry Schedule NC State Parks www ncparks gov Archived from the original on 27 July 2023 Retrieved 27 July 2023 List of Authorized Ferry Services Cape Lookout National Seashore U S National Park Service www nps gov Archived from the original on 10 June 2023 Retrieved 27 July 2023 WSDOT Ferries Division Nation s Largest Ferry System PDF Wsdot wa gov December 2016 Archived from the original PDF on 21 February 2017 Retrieved 27 January 2018 Washington State Ferries Traffic Statistics Rider Segment report PDF Wsdot wa gov 2016 Archived from the original PDF on 28 January 2018 Retrieved 27 January 2018 INVESTING IN AMERICA Biden Harris Administration Announces Nearly 300 Million in Grants to Modernize America s Ferry Systems Federal Transit Administration 16 September 2024 Retrieved 18 September 2024 Geelong Tasmania One Month After 23 November 2022 Archived from the original on 2 December 2022 Retrieved 2 December 2022 GeelongPort welcomes Spirit of Tasmania to Geelong 23 October 2022 Archived from the original on 2 December 2022 Retrieved 2 December 2022 The Journey Great Journeys of New Zealand Archived from the original on 21 December 2019 Retrieved 10 December 2019 First new P amp O Ferries Dover ship floated out in China NI Ferry 8 January 2022 Archived from the original on 8 January 2022 Retrieved 8 January 2022 ATAN official web page Fast Ferries pointless gas guzzlers Atan org Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 Retrieved 27 January 2018 The people keeping our historic foot ferries afloat BBC News 9 March 2024 Retrieved 10 March 2024 The Four Foot Ferries of The Suffolk Coast www thesuffolkcoast co uk Retrieved 10 March 2024 Fahri Verein Basel Faehri ch Archived from the original on 6 July 2011 Retrieved 27 January 2018 101 Interesting Facts Mersey Ferries Archived from the original on 4 September 2010 Retrieved 30 May 2013 Hoboken Historical Museum Steamboat Innovation Hobokenmuseum org Archived from the original on 7 May 2016 Retrieved 5 April 2017 Elwell Ferry Kelly NC Living in Style August September 2008 Christopher E Nelson permanent dead link Elwell Ferry When getting away is closer than you think Star News Online Jim Hanchett 2 December 2005 Archived from the original on 7 March 2012 Retrieved 23 October 2009 Waxholmsbolaget Where to start Waxholmsbolaget Archived from the original on 10 June 2020 Retrieved 10 June 2020 Annual Reports BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc www bcferries com Archived from the original on 25 August 2019 Retrieved 20 August 2019 Business Review CalMac Ferries www calmac co uk Archived from the original on 20 August 2019 Retrieved 20 August 2019 Who we are Transdev Sydney Ferries Discover Experience Share Sydney Harbour by Ferry Transdev Sydney Ferries Archived from the original on 20 August 2019 Retrieved 20 August 2019 Ferry ridership surges to highest level in a decade WSDOT www wsdot wa gov Archived from the original on 22 November 2019 Retrieved 20 August 2019 Transdev in Brisbane www transdevbrisbane com au Archived from the original on 23 August 2019 Retrieved 20 August 2019 Sehir Hatlari Tanitim www sehirhatlari istanbul Archived from the original on 16 December 2023 Retrieved 16 December 2023 GVB Annual report 2019 jaarverslag gvb nl Archived from the original on 18 June 2021 Retrieved 28 May 2020 營運資料 天星小輪有限公司 Archived from the original on 3 October 2020 Retrieved 17 February 2020 Luciano Federico L ship technology com Archived from the original on 2 June 2013 Retrieved 4 June 2013 AMD 1130 Luciano Federico L Amd com au Archived from the original on 28 January 2018 Retrieved 27 January 2018 Philippe Holthof 10 April 2009 SOx and CO2 Emissions once again Hot Topic at Ferry Shipping Conference Ferry Shipping Conference 08 Building Bridges in the Industry PDF Shippax se p 3 Archived from the original on 25 October 2023 Retrieved 27 January 2018 Makela Kari Unit emissions of ferries and Ropax LIPASTO Archived from the original on 19 July 2011 Retrieved 3 July 2009 Interferry hears about green alternatives Tmcnet com Archived from the original on 6 July 2017 Retrieved 27 January 2018 The World s First Methanol Ferry Stena Line 29 March 2022 Archived from the original on 8 April 2022 Retrieved 29 March 2022 Plugging in Finland s first electric ferry Marine Log Video Marinelog com 20 November 2017 Archived from the original on 30 July 2019 Retrieved 4 December 2017 Lambert Fred 24 August 2017 Two massive ferries are about to become the biggest all electric ships in the world Electrek Archived from the original on 2 May 2020 Retrieved 8 May 2020 World s First Electric Car Ferry Enters Service World Maritime News 19 May 2015 Archived from the original on 22 June 2020 Retrieved 21 June 2020 Svetlana Modeva 15 March 2018 Multi Maritime designed battery electric ferries MF Gloppefjord and MF Eidsfjord named in Sandane VesselFinder Archived from the original on 31 July 2020 Retrieved 21 June 2020 Fjord 1 orders seven electric ferries from Havyard electrive com electrive com 8 March 2018 Archived from the original on 24 March 2018 Retrieved 24 March 2018 https www tu no artikler i 2021 vil norge ha 60 ferger med batterier na ma vegdirektoratet finne en standardlosning for lading 414997 Archived 7 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine WWW TU NO In Norwegian Alice Tidey 21 August 2019 World s largest all electric ferry sets sail in Denmark Euronews Archived from the original on 2 October 2020 Retrieved 21 August 2020 Objectives E ferry an EU project under the H2020 Research and Innovation programme Archived from the original on 8 August 2020 Retrieved 21 August 2020 Jessica McCormick Electric Ferry Never Needs Charging Archived 30 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine Bibliography Rines George Edwin ed 1920 Ferry Encyclopedia Americana Robins Nick 1996 The Evolution of the British Ferry Kilgetty Pembrokeshire Ferry Publications ISBN 1871947316 When Horses Walked on Water Horse Powered Ferries in Nineteenth Century America Smithsonian Institution Press Kevin Crisman co authored with Arthur Cohn executive director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum External linksWikimedia Commons has media related to Ferry Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ferries Off Ferries New And Old May 1931 Popular Science Photography of European locations visitable by ferry Ferry to Ireland from the UK Ferry Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed 1911