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Golden Gate Ferry News

22 Sep 2022

Marine Group Boat Works: Standing Steady on Four Legs

(Photo: Marine Group Boat Works)

Ask anyone working in the shipyard business, and they’ll tell you balancing yacht, commercial and government vessel repair work concurrently is no easy task. Add a bit of new construction to the mix, and you’ve got Marine Group Boat Works (MGBW), a Chula Vista, Calif. shipyard that has seemingly mastered the balancing act.“There are a few tricks to the trade,” said MGBW president Todd Roberts, a Cal Maritime graduate with a U.S. Coast Guard license for vessels up to 1,600 tons. “The biggest thing we do is run an extremely clean, environmentally friendly operation. . .

12 Feb 2020

Stephens Elected PVA President for 2020

Colleen Stephens (Photo: PVA)

Colleen Stephens, President of Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises will be President of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) for 2020, the trade association announced.Elected during the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2020 held February 3-6, 2020 in Tampa, Fla., Stephens reaffirmed PVA's commitment to continuously improving safety in passenger vessel operations as well as the association's engagement in being good stewards of the environment. "PVA's Green WATERS program…

25 Oct 2019

ESR Offers Pacific Northwest Ship Repair Services

Photo: ESR

Ice Cap Holdings, LLC expands its shipyard presence to include a service and repair facility in Everett, Washington. Everett Ship Repair, LLC (ESR) was established earlier this month by Ice Cap Holdings, the parent company of Ice Floe, LLC dba Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB). The expansion creates a diverse shipbuilding portfolio between the sister companies, offering NBBB’s new build expertise and ESR’s repair and service capabilities. Everett Ship Repair will focus on vessel repair…

18 Feb 2019

Inside the World's Top Ferry Lines

Staten Island Ferries, NYC. Photo Credit: Greg Trauthwein

The ferry business, unlike more industrial parts of the shipping business, touches wide swaths of the world’s population across continents. The membership of Interferry, the leading trade group for the industry, with non-Governmental organization (NGO) status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) includes 200+ members from all parts of the ferry spectrum. These include passenger ferries (including fast ferries), Ro/Pax and cruise ferries operating globally. In selecting “the best” we looked beyond the league tables of “the most” (passengers) and “the biggest” (fleet size).

26 Nov 2018

Ferry Allision in San Francisco

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the cause of a ferry allision that occurred at the San Francisco Ferry Building Friday afternoon.A crew member aboard the ferry San Francisco notified Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders of the allision around 2:40 p.m.There were reports of two minor injuries that did not require treatment beyond first aid and no reports of pollution.Photos published by the San Francisco Chronicle showed that the vessel suffered significant hull damage.The ferry's operator Golden Gate Ferry, a division of the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, said it will operate on a normal schedule Monday. "We will cover regularly scheduled trips with other vessels in our fleet as the M.S.

26 Sep 2014

Golden Gate Ferry Captains Stage One-day Strike

The Golden Gate passenger ferry system, California's largest, was shut down on Friday by striking boat captains, disrupting service for thousands of San Francisco Bay-area commuters in a wider labor dispute over wages and benefits for transit workers. The 20 ferry pilots who work for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District walked off the job for the day to protest what union officials have criticized as bad-faith contract bargaining on the part of management. The Golden Gate service operates five ferries making 42 crossings a day - carrying roughly 8,500 passengers - between San Francisco and the Marin County communities of Sausalito and Larkspur on the north side of the bay.

18 Oct 2013

San Francisco Bay Ferry Strike Service in Effect

With the announcement that the BART Strike is on, the SF Bay Ferry has implemented increased service on most routes. Enhanced service will begin with a 5 a.m. Vallejo departure to San Francisco on Friday, October 18. See sanfranciscobayferry.com for all BART strike schedules. The BART strike service schedules will be in effect until BART formally announces the strike is called off. If a partial day mid-day strike occurs, San Francisco Bay Ferry will operate its strike schedule for the whole day and will return to its regular schedule the next morning. Weekend BART strike service will be provided to/from the Vallejo, Oakland, San Francisco and Alameda Main Street terminals.

16 Oct 2013

San Francisco Ferry Plans for Possible Transit Strike

Photo: SF Bay Ferry

With the announcement that BART Unions and BART management have requested an extension of their negotiations for another day, the SF Bay Ferry will continue with its regular weekday schedule Wednesday, October 16. If a partial day midday strike occurs, San Francisco Bay Ferry will operate its strike schedule for the whole day and will return to its regular schedule the next morning. Weekend BART strike service will be provided to/from the Vallejo, Oakland, San Francisco and Alameda Main Street terminals.

01 Aug 2013

SF Bay Ferry Prepares for Possible BART Strike

S SF Bay Ferry: Photo courtesy of San Francisco Bay Ferry Co.

San Francisco Bay Ferry is preparing its staff and crew for a potential August 5 BART strike. Expanding the number of boats in operation during the last BART strike from 12 to 13, including two boats on-loan from Golden Gate Ferry. Normally, only eight boats are in SF Bay Ferry service. Adding an additional landing at Golden Gate Ferry¹s San Francisco Ferry Building facility to help reduce dock congestion and carry more passengers. Increasing runs between Oakland Jack London Square, Alameda Main Street and Harbor Bay, Vallejo and the Ferry Building.

17 May 2011

New Golden Gate Ferry Enters Service on Larkspur

The first of two vessels purchased by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (GGBHTD) from Washington State Ferry in January 2009 has been completely refurbished and is entering service today, May 16, on the Larkspur-San Francisco Route. The two Washington State Ferry vessels, now named the M.V. Golden Gate (formerly the Chinook) and the M.V. Napa (formerly the Snohomish) were purchased for $2 million each and have a refurbishment budget of approximately $10 million each. The $24 million project is being funded through a combination of federal, state and GGBHTD funds. For perspective, the cost of just one new high-speed catamaran vessel is currently about $20 million. In 2009, the M.V.

02 Sep 2010

Golden Gate’s High-Speed Ferry at Bay Ship & Yacht

Photo Courtesy, Bay Ship & Yacht

The Golden Gate Ferry’s high-speed, 450-passenger ferry, the Motor Vessel (MV) Mendocino, is in dry-dock at Bay Ship & Yacht’s Alameda shipyard for its periodic U.S. Coast Guard inspection.  While in dry-dock, the vessel will also undergo minor repairs.  The aluminum catamaran ferry was designed by International Catamaran in Australia and built by Nichols Brothers in Washington in 2001.  It is Golden Gate Ferry’s second high-speed catamaran operating on San Francisco Bay, and capable of speeds up to 36 knots provided by four water-jets.

15 Apr 2009

WETA Solicits Public Input on Ferry Transition

Under new state legislation passed last year the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) was charged with consolidating City of Alameda and City of Vallejo ferry services and all planned public transportation ferries under WETA. WETA also has expanded responsibility for coordinating emergency response activities for public waterborne transit services. These responsibilities are to be carried out in accordance with a Transition Plan and an Emergency Water Transportation System Management Plan. WETA is required to create and adopt both plans by July 1, 2009 and to take public input prior to their adoption.

23 Oct 2008

CG, Golden Gate Ferry – Emergency Exercise

Residents of Corte Madera located on the northeast side of the , saw an increased emergency response activity as area responders participate in an industry-led exercise on Wednesday, October 22, 2008. The interagency exercise, sponsored by Golden Gate Ferry in coordination with Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, took place at 4 which is located off the . The exercise was designed to test the Bay Area Vessel Mutual Assistance Plan including agency emergency evacuation capabilities, and mass rescue operations, as well as the ferry system transportation infrastructure. The Golden Gate Ferry exercise allowed all participants the opportunity to test interagency coordination…

28 Oct 2003

Golden Gate Ferry Welcomes New Deputy General Manager

James P. Swindler has been selected as the Deputy General Manger, Ferry Division Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District and will assume his October 28, 2003. Swindler replaces Captain David Clark who passed away early this year. Since 1999, Swindler has served as the Director of Operations at the Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority (Steamship Authority), MA, which operates ferry service between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Islands and Woods Hole serving more than 3 million passengers, 500,000 automobiles, and 110,00 trucks annually. Swindler began his career with Steamship Authority in 1990 as a Special Projects Manager. For six of his thirteen years at the Authority, he also served as Engineering/Maintenance Manager.

08 Mar 2002

Hall Elected President of PVA

Fred Hall was elected PVA 2002 President on Tuesday, February 19 during the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2002 in Biloxi, Miss. Hall is Vice President and General Manager of the Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Steamboat Company, Port Jefferson, N.Y., a provider of ferry service across the Long Island Sound. This ferry service has been in business since 1883 and now operates three 100-vehicle/1000-passenger vessels. Prior to being elected PVA President, Hall has served as PVA Vice-President, PVA Secretary-Treasurer and co-chairman of the PVA Legislative Committee. He was also a founding member and a past chairman of the PVA Ferry Council.

12 Jun 2007

Bay Ship & Yacht Overhauls Golden Gate Ferry District’s Marin

Bay Ship & Yacht announces they will soon complete the full refit of the Golden Gate Ferry, Marin. The vessel arrived in the shipyard on November 13, 2006, and will soon be back serving the commuters of the San Francisco Bay Area from its berth in Larkspur. Passengers who ride the Marin daily will be pleased to hear that the ferry had a complete remodel of the passenger seating, interior bulkhead linings, new carpet and vinyl flooring and overhead ceilings, ventilation, lighting, and exterior windows. Also included were new fresh water and sanitary systems, electrical systems, and a complete repainting of the vessel exterior. An important part of Marin refit was to install new additions…

26 Feb 2003

Frommelt Named President of PVA

Gary Frommelt, Hornblower Marine Services, Elizabeth, Ind., was elected 2003 PVA President on February 18 during the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2003 held in Long Beach, CA. Other officers elected were PVA Vice President, David B. Clark, Golden Gate Ferry , Larkspur, CA, and PVA Secretary-Treasurer, Cornel Martin, Delta Queen Steamboat Company, New Orleans, LA. Frommelt serves as project manager for Hornblower Marine Services as director of marine operations for Caesars Indiana-home to the largest riverboat casino in the world. Frommelt was most recently PVA Vice President, has served on the PVA Board of Directors since 1996, and has been a long-term member of the Safety Committee.

29 Aug 2005

TSA, U.S. Coast Guard, and Golden Gate Ferry to Test Explosives Detection Tech

Administration (TSA) and the U.S. part of the Secure Automated Inspection Lanes (SAIL) project. San Francisco terminal in September. screening systems for high volume commuter ferries. Director for TSA. detection equipment to screen passengers. commuter trips during rush hour. program and can capture explosive material. using the detection equipment. be destroyed in the presence of the passenger. security," said Vice Adm. Harvey E. Area. be selected for TSA's SAIL program.

30 Aug 2005

Ferry Passengers to be Screened for Explosives

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Coast Guard, in partnership with Golden Gate Ferry will begin testing advanced explosives detection technology today as part of the Secure Automated Inspection Lanes (SAIL) project. The 30-day pilot program will conduct explosives screening on passengers boarding ferries at the Golden Gate Ferry terminals in Larkspur, Calif., and will move to the San Francisco terminal in September. SAIL’s purpose is to test the feasibility of using new technologies while maintaining efficient passenger screening systems for high volume commuter ferries. “Deploying and testing explosives…