The First Fleet class is a class of ferry operated by Transdev Sydney Ferries on

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

History

In the early 1980s, the Urban Transit Authority ordered nine catamaran ferries from Carrington Slipways,

Tomago Tomago is a combined industrial/semi-rural suburb of the Port Stephens Council, Port Stephens Local government in Australia, local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located just north of the Hunter River, ...

. They were to replace the K-class and wooden Lady class ferries on

. The new vessels were named after ships of the

First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...

and were delivered between 1984 and 1986. It was originally intended that they would operate services on the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, Ria, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average Altitude, height, and depth, depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour ...

, but they generated too much wash. In 2006/07, the class were repowered with MTU Series 60 engines. As at November 2023, all nine remain in service with Transdev Sydney Ferries. Between 2020 and 2022, eight of the ferries underwent life extension rebuilds to extend their lives for a further 10 years. The work was undertaken by Birdon at

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie, sometimes shortened to Port Mac and commonly locally nicknamed Port, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane, on the Tasman Sea coast at the mouth of the ...

and included new engines, refurbished interiors, the provision of air conditioning and additional safety features. The first vessel completed was the ''Golden Grove'' in June 2020.Sydney ferries get a facelift at Port Macquarie to extend life just shy of 50 years
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ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

'' 19 June 2020 First Fleet Class Ferries currently service F2 Taronga Zoo, F4 Pyrmont Bay, F5 Neutral Bay, F6 Mosman Bay, F7 Double Bay and F8 Cockatoo Island. Interior of lower floor of Non Refurbished First Fleet Ferry

Interior of lower floor of Non Refurbished First Fleet Ferry

Vessels

References

External links

* {{Australianferries, state=collapsed Catamarans Ferry classes Ferry transport in Sydney Ships built in New South Wales