Second Freshwater Ferry Saved

A second Freshwater class vessel will continue to operate on Sydney Harbour, after our hard work campaigning to retain the iconic ferries.

I’m happy to let you know that Transport Minister, Andrew Constance today announced the MV Freshwater, will continue to operate alongside the MV Collaroy on weekends and public holidays.

Mr Constance said he has listened to our community and the feedback about retaining the much loved ferries.

“This decision is about balancing the needs of all our customers, with the community feedback and additional maintenance costs, and moving forward with a solution that we can all get onboard with,” he said.

The two Freshwaters will see services run between Circular Quay and Manly every hour on weekends and public holidays, year round.

“Weekday commuters, who want faster and more frequent services, will be served by the new generation Emerald class vessels, which are fully accessible, more energy efficient and cheaper to run,” Mr Constance said.

I want to thank the Minister and Transport for NSW for listening to the community’s feedback and retaining another Freshwater.

The decision does strike the right balance between keeping the grand old boats for tourists and residents who want to enjoy the scenic trip to Manly on weekends and public holidays, while providing a more frequent service that commuters want during the week.

The Freshwater will be temporarily off the water in the first quarter of 2021 while it undergoes some important maintenance to keep the iconic ferry running.

During this time, the remaining three ferries will continue to run services.

I will keep the community up to date about plans for the MV Queenscliff and MV Narrabeen early next year. I can assure you that all four Freshwater class vessels will operate throughout this summer. I understand many people can feel unsure and not like change, but this is a good compromise to save the ferries.