Commuter Services News

The first of 10 new, all-electric ferries has been delivered for emission-free commuter services along Lisbon’s Tagus River.Built by the Astilleros Gondán shipyard for operator Transtejo, the vessel features an integrated power, automation, energy storage and propulsion solution from ABB.Replacing a fleet of older, fossil fuel-burning ferries, the 40-meter, 540-passenger vessels will also improve passenger comfort and reduce operational and maintenance costs.With power distribution managed by ABB Onboard DC Grid ensuring that output of each ship’s 1…

Since the 1980s there has been a remarkable revival of ferry services in many U.S. waterfront cities, but COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the most profitable component of these services: the commuter runs. With post-COVID work-at-home arrangements and part-week in-office work, these ferry services have suffered a tremendous loss of income. But there are glimmers of hope that a recovery is likely, although in a different form, in a different world.Commuter runs are often the bread and butter portion of a ferry services…

Mackay Marine said it provided marine electronics systems and technologies for Kitsap Transit's two new 250-passenger vessels built by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB).Bremerton, Wash.-based public transit agency ordered the new vessels in December 2018 to provide expedient commuter services to downtown Seattle from both Kingston, Wash. and a planned Southworth, Wash. route.The bow-loading fast ferries, built by NBBB at its Whidbey Island, Wash. shipyard, are state-of-the-art, low-wake vessels.

Buckley McAllister, President of McAllister Towing & Transportation, weighs in on the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts on the maritime sector.McAllister Towing & Transportation is a long and storied organization based in New York, the original U.S. COVID-19 hot spot that has been transformed from the city that never sleeps into a surreal ghost town. Describe the view from your perspective.All McAllister administrative personnel who can work from home are doing so. Luckily, most office personnel do most of their work online, so the need for actual visits to the office are infrequent.

The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce has named passenger vessels operator Boston Harbor Cruises (BHC) as the 2015 Small Business of the Year Awards top honoree. The Small Business of the Year Awards recognizes Greater Boston’s smaller for-profit companies, with annual gross revenues of more than $1 million, who display strong financial performance, achievement in management, workplace excellence, product innovation and community and social responsibility. BHC operates a fleet of 48 vessels on a seasonal daily excursion schedule that includes Boston Harbor sightseeing cruises…

Seastreak America Inc. has added another catamaran ferry to its service within the New York City commuter market with the December 10, 2001 launch of M/V Seastreak New Jersey. The 141-ft. (42.9-m), 400 passenger high speed catamaran will provide daily commuter ferry service from Atlantic Highlands and Highlands, N.J. to Pier 11 near Wall Street and East 34th Street in Manhattan. SeaStreak New Jersey is the sister ship of SeaStreak New York and joins the fleet of the 300-passenger SeaStreak Manhattan and SeaStreak Liberty, which also provides commuter services between central New Jersey and Manhattan; the 149-passenger Seastreak Brooklyn accommodates commuters between Brooklyn and Manhattan.