Cross Sound Ferry Block Island Express | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | John P. Wronowski, Adam Wronowski [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Area served | Long Island North Fork, Southeastern Connecticut, Block Island | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Long Island Sound Block Island Sound | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Transit type | Ferry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Headquarters | New London, Connecticut | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Website | www www | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Began operation | 1975 (Cross Sound) 2004 (Block Island) [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | Cross Sound Ferry Services Block Island Ferry Services [3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of vehicles | 10 ferry vessels [4] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Cross Sound Ferry is a passenger and road vehicle ferry service operating between New London, Connecticut and Orient, New York on Long Island.
The service is privately owned and operated by Cross Sound Ferry Services, headquartered in New London and run by the Wronowski family, which also owns and operates the Block Island Express ferry service and the Thames Shipyard and Repair Company. [1]
Though there have been multiple proposals to bridge the Long Island Sound at various locations, none have ever come to fruition. Therefore, Long Island motorists located east of the Throgs Neck Bridge heading toward Connecticut must first drive west into Queens, cross one of the three city bridges to the Bronx, and then drive east to reach New England destinations. This circuitous route could, at the extreme, add as many as 200 miles (320 km) to a trip between Long Island and New London, points north, or points east. [5] In addition to the saving in mileage, use of Cross Sound avoids heavy urban traffic in New York City and on Interstate 95 in Connecticut. [6]
The ferry serves over one million passengers annually, [7] about half of whom live on Long Island. [8]
Cross Sound Ferry previously attempted to establish service between New London and East Hampton, on the South Fork of Long Island. A local ordinance passed by the Town of East Hampton in 1997 prohibits vehicle ferry service within the Town's borders and places limits on the speeds of both passenger vessels and road vehicles. Cross Sound Ferry filed a lawsuit against the town in 2004 to overturn the ruling, which was eventually dismissed. [9]
Cross Sound Ferry operates year-round with up to 32 daily departures with the lone exception of no service on December 25, Christmas Day. [10]
The Block Island Express, a high-speed passenger ferry service, operates out of the same New London ferry terminal and services Block Island (New Shoreham, Rhode Island). [11] The Thames Shipyard and Repair Company services both Cross Sound Ferry and Block Island Express vessels. [12] All three organizations share the 2 Ferry Street office at the New London terminal.
The three companies, as well as the Thames Towboat Company, are owned by John P. Wronowski and son, Adam Wronowski. [1]
Cross Sound Ferry Services owns a fleet of seven traditional vehicle-passenger ferries, one high-speed passenger-only ferry, and two additional ferries cruises and charters. Vessels are retrofitted at Cross Sound's sister company, Thames Shipyard and Repair. [13] Block Island Ferry Services has one vessel, serviced at the same shipyard. [2]
Image | Vessel | Year built [4] | Service began [4] | Auto capacity [4] | Passenger capacity | Length | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Caribbean ferry | 1972 | 1977 | 22 | 130 | 128 ft | Freight/ROPAX | Built in 1972 by Blount Marine (Warren), formerly used for service in the West Indies [4] | |
New London | 1979 | 1979 | 60 | 300 | 260 ft | Freight/ROPAX | Built by Thames Shipyard (New London), first new-build vessel of the Cross Sound Ferry [4] | |
Cape Henlopen | 1943 | 1983 | 84 | 900 | 328 ft | ROPAX | Acquired from Delaware River and Bay Authority, [4] built in 1943 as USS LST-510 to serve in D-Day | |
North Star | 1968 | 1984 | ROPAX | Built in 1968 (Morgan City) as an offshore supply vessel, now used for charter services [4] | ||||
John H. | 1989 | 1989 | 120 | 1000 | 240 ft | ROPAX | Largest vessel of the fleet, built 1989 by Eastern Marine Shipyard (Panama City) [4] | |
Sea Jet I | 1989 | 1995 | - | 400 | High-speed | Built by Nichols Brothers Shipyard (Freeland), formerly operated in Hawaii and Catalina Island [4] | ||
Susan Anne | 1964 | 1998 | 80 | 840 | 250 ft | ROPAX | Built 1964 by Northumberland Ferries Limited as Prince Nova, originally sailed between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island [4] | |
Mary Ellen | 1983 | 2003 | 85 | 675 | 260 ft | ROPAX | Built in 1983 by Offshore Shipbuilding in Palatka Florida as Grand Republic for the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry. She operated as Grand Republic until she was sold to Cross Sound Ferry in 2003 and was renamed Mary Ellen. [14] | |
Jessica W | 1990 | 2004 [2] | - | 530 | 160 ft | High-speed passenger | Operated by Block Island Ferry Services, built in 1990 as Condor 9 acquired from Condor Ferries in 2003 [11] | |
Jennifer C. | 1965 | 2016 | 50 | 300 | ROPAX | Built by New Bern Shipyard (New Bern) in 1965 as MV Pamlico, acquired in 2015 from North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division [4] | ||
Cecilia Ann | 2003 | 2017 | - | 600 | 143 ft | Passenger | Built by Austal Shipyard (Mobile) in 2003 as Zephyr, acquired from Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, primarily used for lighthouse cruises [4] |
Local officials on Long Island's North Fork have criticized Cross Sound Ferry for causing increased vehicle traffic on New York State Route 25 (NY 25), particularly following the addition of its Sea Jet service. The Orient terminal is located at the eastern terminus of NY 25, and all traffic must use NY 25 to get to and from the ferry terminal; travelers coming from points further west must travel through several towns, including Riverhead and Southold in the process. In an attempt to verify this, the Town of Southold commissioned a corridor study in 2007. However, the results of the study found that "the section of [NY 25] in the vicinity of the Cross Sound Ferry currently operates with a Vehicle to Capacity (v/c) ratio of .18. This means that the roadway is currently running at 18% of its total capacity. This also means that the roadway can handle approximately five times the current traffic." [15]
On November 19, 2002, semi-truck driver Michael Zuber was killed by drowning after his semi-truck rolled off the back deck of the Susan Anne while he was asleep behind the wheel after crew members neglected to place wheel chocks behind the back wheels of Zuber's semi-truck. No criminal charges were filed against Cross Sound Ferry or any of its employees, but Zuber's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the ferry company, alleging negligence. The two sides agreed to an out-of-court settlement for $3.2 million in 2008, some six years after the accident. [16]
Hong Kong has a highly developed transport network, encompassing both public and private transport. Based on Hong Kong Government's Travel Characteristics Survey, over 90% of daily journeys are on public transport, the highest rate in the world. However, in 2014 the Transport Advisory Committee, which advises the Government on transportation issues, issued a report on the much-worsened congestion problem in Hong Kong and pointed at the excessive growth of private cars during the past 10–15 years.
A ferry is a boat that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus.
The fast ferry scandal was a political affair in the late 1990s relating to the construction of three fast ferries by the Canadian provincial crown corporation BC Ferries under direction of the Executive Council of British Columbia, headed at the time by Premier Glen Clark of the New Democratic Party.
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Set up in 1960 to provide a similar service to that provided by the Black Ball Line and the Canadian Pacific Railway, which were affected by job action at the time, BC Ferries has become the largest passenger ferry line in North America, operating a fleet of 41 vessels with a total passenger and crew capacity of over 27,000, serving 47 locations on the B.C. coast.
The Woolwich Ferry is a free vehicle and pedestrian ferry across the River Thames in East London, connecting Woolwich on the south bank with North Woolwich on the north. It is licensed and financed by London River Services, the maritime arm of Transport for London (TfL). Around two million passengers use the ferry each year.
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals located around Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands, designated as part of the state highway system. The agency maintains a fleet of 21 vessels that are able to carry passengers and vehicles.
Caledonian MacBrayne, in short form CalMac, is the trade name of CalMac Ferries Ltd, the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries to the west coast of Scotland, serving ports on the mainland and 22 of the major islands. It is a subsidiary of holding company David MacBrayne, which is owned by the Scottish Government.
The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Red Funnel, the trading name of the Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited, is a ferry company that carries passengers, vehicles and freight on routes between the English mainland and the Isle of Wight. High-speed foot passenger catamarans, known as Red Jets, run between Southampton and Cowes, while vehicle ferries run between Southampton and East Cowes. It also runs the ferry between Southampton and Hythe.
The North Fork is a 30-mile- (48 km) long peninsula in the northeast part of Suffolk County, New York, U.S., roughly parallel with a longer peninsula known as the South Fork, both on the East End of Long Island. Although the peninsula begins east of Riverhead hamlet, the term North Fork can also refer collectively to the towns of Riverhead and Southold in their entirety.
The transport system in Scotland is generally well-developed. The Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament has control over most elements of transport policy within Scotland, with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition holding portfolio responsibility within the Scottish Government. Transport Scotland is the Executive Agency responsible for the Scottish transport network.
Western Ferries (Clyde) Ltd is a private ferry company with its headquarters in Hunters Quay, Scotland. It currently operates on the Firth of Clyde running a year-round, high-frequency vehicle carrying service between Hunters Quay, near Dunoon, and McInroy's Point, on the outskirts of Gourock in Inverclyde.
London has an extensive and developed transport network which includes both public and private services. Journeys made on its integrated transport network account for 37% of London's journeys while private services accounted for 36% of journeys, walking 24% and cycling 2%, according to numbers from 2017. London's public transport network serves as the central hub for the United Kingdom in rail, air and road transport.
TT-Line Company Pty Ltd, trading as Spirit of Tasmania, is a Tasmanian Government-owned business that has been offering ferry services between mainland Australia and Tasmania since July 1993. Navigating the Bass Strait, Spirit of Tasmania ferry services cover a distance of 242 nautical miles between Geelong, Victoria and Devonport, Tasmania. Each journey across the "Sea Highway" takes approximately 9–11 hours in both directions.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division is a branch of NCDOT that is responsible for the operation of over two dozen ferry services that transport passengers and vehicles to several islands along the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Lake Washington steamboats and ferries operated from about 1875 to 1951, transporting passengers, vehicles and freight across Lake Washington, a large lake to the east of Seattle, Washington. Before modern highways and bridges were built, the only means of crossing the lake, other than the traditional canoe or rowboat, was by steamboat, and, later, by ferry. While there was no easily navigable connection to Puget Sound, the Lake Washington Ship Canal now connects Lake Washington to Lake Union, and from there Puget Sound is reached by way of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.
The Old Thames Shipyard is a historic shipyard on the Thames River at the end of Farnsworth Street in New London, Connecticut. Established in 1900, the shipyard included, at the time of its listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, a complete working steam-powered marine railway system, one of the few such in the nation.
The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company, commonly referred to as the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry is a privately-owned transportation company that operates passenger and vehicle ferry service across Long Island Sound, between the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut and the Long Island village of Port Jefferson, New York. Founded in 1883, it is one of the oldest continuously operating ferry companies in the United States.
The Seattle–Bainbridge ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound between Seattle and Bainbridge Island, Washington. The route was called the Seattle–Winslow ferry before the city of Winslow annexed the rest of the island and changed its name. Since 1951 the only ferries employed on the route have belonged to the Washington state ferry system, currently the largest ferry system in the United States.
The Baynes Sound Connector is a car ferry owned and operated by B.C. Ferries that runs between Buckley Bay on Vancouver Island and Denman Island. It is the first and only cable ferry in the BC Ferries fleet and replaced the self-propelled MV Quinitsa in February 2016.