Ferry Transportation News

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).

Stena Line has achieved a milestone in its fleet investment program with the launching ceremony of the first of its next generation of RoPax vessel taking place at the Avic Weihai Shipyard in China. The first new vessel will be named Stena Estrid* and she took to the water for the first time on January 16, 2019, and is on schedule to enter service on the Dublin to Holyhead route in early 2020, the first of three new E-Flexer vessels bound for the Irish Sea by 2021. All three vessels…

Terry MacRae founded Hornblower Yachts, LLC (doing business as Hornblower Cruises & Events) in 1980, and serves as Chief Executive Officer, the President and is also its owner. MacRae is the Co-founder of HMS Global Maritime and the American Queen Steamboat Company, and serves as Chief Executive Officer of Alcatraz Cruises, LLC, Statue Cruises, LLC, Hornblower Canada Co., Hornblower Cable Cars, Inc. and HNY Ferry, LLC (doing business as NYC Ferry). He leads one of the largest and fastest growing charter, dining cruise, and ferry operating companies in the nation.

On Friday, February 2, 2018, an official keel-laying ceremony took place at the AVIC Weihai Shipyard in China, marking the start of the construction phase of the hull and the exterior parts of the vessel. The new vessels, which Stena said will be 50 percent larger than today’s standard RoPax vessels, have a planned delivery timetable during 2019 and 2020. According to Niclas Mårtensson, CEO Stena Line, “Our overall target is that these vessels will be the absolute state-of-the-art when it comes to energy efficiency, flexibility and customer service.

Ferry operations are extremely complex with a combination of inputs that will all impact the ferry’s ability to deliver effective operational capability – the asset itself forms only a small part of a system for transporting people and vehicles between two points. All inputs to the ferry transportation system need to be considered to deliver the system’s capability and ensure the service is successful. Too much emphasis is often placed on the acquisition of a ferry, rather than on the remaining operational inputs, resulting in an ineffective, inefficient and unsuccessful operation.

Dr. Roberta Weisbrod, Executive Director of the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association (WFSA) has announced that the winners of its Safe Affordable Ferry Competition will be made known at the Ferry Safety and Technology Conference. The conference, in its second year, will be held in downtown New York, June 2-3. The competition, a project of the WFSA, challenges teams of Naval Architecture students to design a vessel that would serve a population dependent on ferry transportation.

While most people know that ferries are a method of transportation, few have a good understanding of the nature of the sector and its importance. In Canada, ferries transport more than 55 million passengers, over 19 million vehicles, billions of dollars’ worth of goods and they employ close to 35,000 people. Beyond the numbers are the personal stories. and much more. For a good portion of Canadians, ferries are part of their way of life. Some are quite passionate about their ferries – something which shows when schedules, fares or routes are changed.

Johan Roos is Interferry’s executive director of European Union and IMO affairs based in Brussels, Belgium. He took up the newly created regulatory affairs post in September 2011 after previously serving as director of sustainability with Sweden’s Stena Rederi AB. He holds a masters degree in environmental sciences from the University of Gothenburg. In 2000, he left classification society DNV to join ferry operator Stena Line to develop internal environmental management systems and for many years, he was in charge of sustainability issues for all of the Stena group’s shipping activities.

International Shipholding Corporation inform that its Board of Directors has declared a dividend of $2.375 per share on its Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (NYSE:ISHPRA) and a dividend of $2.25 per share on its Series B Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (NYSE:ISHPRB), each representing payment for the full ninety day period ending July 30, 2014. The dividend will be paid on July 30, 2014 to preferred shareholders as of record on July 29, 2014. According to its web site, International Shipholding Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates a diversified fleet of U.S. and International Flag vessels…

A hybrid electric ferry using Corvus Energy's advanced lithium polymer battery solution was commissioned today in Copenhagen, Denmark by Scandline. The Princess Benedikte ferry refit represents the conversion of a former diesel electric ferry to a hybrid vessel and a major advance in green ferry transportation. Using 2.7MWh of Corvus’ industry-proven battery modules, the retrofitted ferry will provide enhanced technical reliability and efficiency, improve maintenance costs, consume less fuel…

John (Jack) William Gilbert, PE, U.S. Navy Lieutenant, USNR, a world-renowned Naval Architect and Marine Engineer and President of John W. Gilbert Associates, Inc., Hingham, Massachusetts, died at the age of 80 years on July 26, 2010. Gilbert was born in Silver Creek, N.Y., on November 1, 1929, and was a resident of North Scituate, Mass., for more than 48 years. He graduated with a B.S.Nam. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1955. Gilbert founded John W. Gilbert Associates…

On April 29, 2009, members of Congress introduced the United States Ferry Systems Investment Act of 2009, proposing a significant expansion of federal attention to ferry transportation. S. 930 is sponsored by Senator Patti Murray of Washington and cosponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. In the House of Representatives, H.R. 2172 is sponsored by Representative Rick Larsen of Washington. The legislation features a big increase in funding for the existing Federal Ferry Boat Discretionary Grant Program. This program provides competitive federal grants for up to 80 percent of the capital expenditures for ferry vessels, terminals and other shoreside infrastructure, and maintenance facilities. To be eligible, a ferry must be publicly owned or operated.

On April 6 Austal Ships and MTU introduced what it calls the world’s most powerful diesel-powered high-speed catamaran, Spirit of Ontario, in New York. The 284-ft. vessel -- powered by four MTU 20 V 8000 diesel enginesallowing for a loaded speed of 45.7 knots (52 mph/84 kph) – can carry 774 passengers and up to 238 cars or 10 full size trucks. It will be deployed by Canadian American Transportation System between Rochester, NY, and Toronto, ON. According to a survey conducted by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge…

Building fast RoPax vessels is nothing new for Australia's Austal Ships. The company, founded just 16 years ago, has quickly crafted a reputation as one of the largest and best builders of aluminum craft in the world, and today boasts an annual turnover in excess of $250 million. Spirit of Ontario, however, is in a different league. The ship arrived last month from its birth place Down Under to start work for Canadian American Transportation System on the commuter route between Rochester, NY, and Toronto, ON. Its inaugural route to work took it on tours through the Hawaiian Islands and eventually to Pier 17 at New York City's South Street Seaport…

There are several quick conclusions you can draw about passenger boat construction in the new millennium. First it is a smaller market than 10 years ago with far fewer boats being built today than a decade ago. Secondly almost all of these vessels are built on the east or west coast. There are virtually no passenger boats being built in the south. Third, the number one vessel type being built is the ferryboat and more specifically the all-passenger ferry that shuttles people at 25 knots or better. In the years between 1987 and 1993 shipyards all over the country were building 600-passenger excursion-dinner boats in great numbers as sightseeing and dining vessels on America’s great rivers, lakes and bays became increasingly popular.

On May 15, the Municipal Waterfront Alliance sponsored its second port-wide waterfront conference focused on the legal, environmental, infrastructure, redevelopment, commercial, transportation and economic issues facing the Port of New York & New Jersey. The conference took place in the Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey and the World Financial Center in New York City -- a short water taxi ride for the participants. The conference was attended by approximately 500 people, including 60 federal, state and local government representatives and stakeholders in the future redevelopment of the port complex. New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey was the keynote speaker…

ConAgra Inc., the second largest U.S. food manufacturer, has agreed to sell American Commercial Lines LLC (ACL) its large U.S. inland barge fleet and operations. Financial terms of the deal, which ConAgra said was part of ongoing series of strategic divestments, were not announced. ACL will acquire 930 owned and chartered barges, nine chartered towboats and one dry dock, the companies said in a joint statement. The deal includes Peavey Barge Lines, Brown Water Towing Inc. and Superior Barge Lines, Inc. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval but is expected to be completed in the next 30 days, the companies said. Greg Heckman, president and CEO, ConAgra Trade Group, said, "Our decision to sell the barge company is a strategic one.

The proliferation of sleek, unique and fast ferries on U.S. waterways is slowly becoming the reality that has been much discussed for decades. While the country does not have an inate "ferry mentality" that is so prevalent in the European culture, in part due to the vastly different geographic challenges, many parts of the country, particularly the heavily congested Northeast corridor, are starting to accept the advantages of relatively fast and efficient water transport. According to a survey conducted by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, Mass., high-speed ferries account for only 10 percent of the overall national U.S. ferry fleet.

British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. reported a first-quarter profit of $76.2m due to insurance proceeds of $67.9m in connection with the sinking of the Queen of the North ferry. The ferry operator said Thursday that excluding the one-time gain, it would have earned $14.9 million on revenue of $146.3 million. That compared to a profit of $14.4 million on revenue of $145.2 million a year ago. The company said the money from the insurance payment will be used to buy a replacement ship. The Queen of the North sank March 22 after striking Gil Island in Wright Sound in 430 metres of water. Two people remain missing and are presumed dead after the late-night incident in which 99 people were safely removed from the stricken vessel. Two lawsuits are pending as a result of the sinking. B.C.

To those not familiar with the New York metropolitan area — the eastern end of Long Island is demographically multi-faceted. Traveling east on the Long Island Expressway, (the Island' main thoroughfare), the 118-mile long island, splits into two "forks," the North and the South. With the hamlets of Greenport and Orient Point situated on the easternmost points of the island on the north, the South Fork boasts the tony Hampton villages and the historical village of Montauk Point — literally the end of the earth before reaching the whitecaps of the Atlantic Ocean. While the two forks may differ in reputation and history — they have one similarity — a small island "sheltered" in between.

As the U.S. Department of Transportation works to develop transportation policies to meet 21st Century needs, perhaps the most vexing problems faced are those associated with traffic congestion on the Interstate highways which parallel our Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coastlines. Interstate 95, I-5 and I-10 carry automobile and truck traffic far beyond their design capacities. In the major metropolitan areas, which these highways intersect, the combination of interstate and local traffic increasingly slows vehicle movements to a crawl. More traffic is on the way. Additional highway lanes and intersections will not solve these problems. Properly fashioned waterborne trailer and container services and passenger ferry operations can and should.

Meeting national transportation needs during the current decade should involve a surfeit of new contracts for our domestic shipbuilders. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) mandates double hulls for all vessels engaged in U.S. petroleum carriage. In our non-contiguous trades, renewal programs are needed for the replacement aging container and RoRo fleets. Moving freight containers and trailers on RoRo barges and vessels, and moving people on passenger and passenger-vehicle high speed ferries, provide the obvious solutions to traffic congestion in the population corridors served by at least two of our Interstate highways. Some of these vessel needs are now immediate because of private sector decisions to postpone projects.

It is testament to the Finnish spirit that diesel engineering force Wärtsilä NSD, having suffered bruising financial results in 1998, has staged an effective fightback based in part on tactical change and in part on increased control of every theater of its operations. As the latest expression of the corporation's growing influence on the industry in Europe, the famous Grandi Motori Trieste name and its vast engine manufacturing complex on Italy's northeastern border with Slovenia, have been subsumed into the Finnish-controlled group and retitled Wärtsilä NSD Italia. Occupying a total area of 550,000-sq.-m., including 150,000-sq.-m. under cover, the Trieste plant is one of the most extensive in the world.