ferry

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". The concept was refined to use horses turning a capstan or a treadmill; this was a precursor to steam to drive paddlewheel boats. These were known as team boats. An example was the Experiment, which was used on Lake Champlain in 19th-century America.

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.

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. 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.

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

In Scotland, ferry services form a vital part of the national transport network, connecting the mainland with more than sixty inhabited islands and linking remote peninsulas to the rest of the country. Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac), operating under contract with Transport Scotland, runs the largest network, serving communities across the west coast and the Hebrides. A range of smaller operators, including local authorities and private companies, provide additional river, coastal, and inter-island services. Scotland also has ferry services operating across the Irish sea operated by P&O Ferries and Stena Line connecting to destinations in Northern Ireland including Belfast and Larne.

Ferries have long played an important role in Scotland's transport history, and they remain essential today for residents, freight, and tourism owing to the country's rugged coastline and widely dispersed island communities.

The busiest seaway in the world, the English Channel, connects England and mainland Europe, with ships sailing from the English 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 England 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 England, car-carrying ferries are sometimes referred to as RORO (roll-on, roll-off) for the ease by which vehicles can board and leave.

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.

North America

Due to the numbers of large freshwater lakes and length of shoreline in Canada, various provinces and territories have ferry services.

On Canada's west coast, BC Ferries operates the third largest ferry service in the world. Travellers are carried from various points on the British Columbia mainland to destinations such as Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and Haida Gwaii. In 2015, BC Ferries carried more than 8 million vehicles and 20 million passengers.

Other operations include the Seabus, a part of Vancouver's public transit system which crosses Burrard Inlet, and False Creek Ferries, a privately operated service that operates in and around False Creek. Multiple inland ferries also operate across various lakes and rivers throughout the province.

The 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 Ferries, Northumberland Ferries, 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 Company 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.

The largest ferry system in the United States is the public Washington State Ferries system in the Pacific Northwest, which has ten routes on Puget Sound and around the San Juan Islands. In 2025, the system carried 20.1 million total passengers and 9.4 million vehicles aboard its 21 vessels, which are able to carry up to 1,793 passengers and 202 vehicles on a single trip. The ferries serve commuters in the Seattle metropolitan area as well as tourist and recreational traffic. They are integrated into the state highway system and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation. The region also has a number of passenger-only services that are operated by other public agencies as well as private companies. Kitsap Transit operates local foot ferries within its local area and "fast ferries" to Seattle that carried 1.2 million passengers in 2024.

South America

There are several ferries in South America.

Chacao Channel has ferry lines.

Oceania

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.

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.

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. Many double-ended ferries are also constructed in Greece, in the shipyards of Perama and Salamis. Greek double-ended ferries are exported to other countries, such as Russia, where they are popular for short distance routes.

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. From 1984 to 1994 Scandinavian Airlines to operated a hovercraft service between Malmö and Copenhagen Airport as a connecting "flight" for passengers from southern Sweden. The service was replaced by a regular boat in 1994 and by the Öresund bridge in 2000.

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.

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 Butley Creek 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 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 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 20.1 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 – 20.1 million passengers and 9.4 million vehicles 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: