Ferry Duijsens

A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi.

Ferries form a part of the public transport systems of many waterside cities and islands, allowing direct transit between points at a capital cost much lower than bridges or tunnels. Ship connections of much larger distances (such as over long distances in water bodies like the Mediterranean Sea) may also be called ferry services, and many carry vehicles.

History

In ancient times

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''". Though impractical, there is no reason why it could not work and such a ferry, modified by using horses, was used in Lake Champlain in 19th-century America. See Experiment (horse powered boat).

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 ferry ship was created 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 a British shipbuilder. It weighed 157 tons. It was 155 feet (45.7 meters) long, 27 feet (8.5 meters) wide, and had a draft of 9 feet (3 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 carry passengers across Victoria Harbour. Other carriers ferry travellers between Hong Kong Island and outlying islands like Cheung Chau, Lantau Island and Lamma Island.

The Malaysian state of Penang is home to the oldest ferry service in the country. This service, now renamed Rapid Ferry, connects the Raja Tun Uda Ferry Terminal at Weld Quay in George Town on Penang Island with the Sultan Abdul Halim Ferry Terminal in Butterworth on Peninsular Malaysia. It has also become a tourist attraction among foreigners.

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.

File:FERRY RAWA.JPG, A ferry underway in Penang, Malaysia.
File:Yawatahama ferry.jpg, The inside of a passenger ferry on route between Shikoku and Kyushu