Ferry

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.

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".

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 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.

[10] More than 800,000[9] small and medium wooden sailboats and rowboats, often retrofitted to be motorised,[11] are an important means of transportation for people and goods across the country, especially during the rainy season.

These various traditional wooden boats play a vital role in providing transportation during the rainy season when other modes become impractical due to flooding.

It stands for catering to the passenger and cargo traffic needs of the inhabitants of the waterlogged areas of the Districts of Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kollam, Ernakulam, Kannur and Kasargode.

Japan used to rely heavily on ferries for passenger and goods transportation among the four main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu.

The first regular ferry service operating across the Penang Strait between George Town and Province Wellesley (now Seberang Perai) was launched in 1894 by Quah Beng Kee and his brothers.

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.

Private and publicly owned ferry operations in eastern Canada include Marine Atlantic, serving the island of Newfoundland, as well as Bay, NFL, 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 and several smaller operations.

Due to the North Carolina coast's geography, consisting of numerous sounds, inlets, tidal arms, and islands, ferry transportation is essential in the region.

New York City also has a network of smaller ferries, or water taxis, that shuttle commuters along the Hudson River from locations in New Jersey and Northern Manhattan down to the midtown, downtown and Wall Street business centers.

Several ferry companies also offer service linking midtown and lower Manhattan with locations in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn, crossing the city's East River.

A second expansion phase connected Staten Island to the West Side of Manhattan, and added a stop in Throgs Neck, in the Bronx.

[39] One notable project is the San Francisco ferry system, which will receive $11.5 million to improve the connection between Treasure Island and Mission Bay.

[40][41] 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.

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.

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[44] in islands already suffering from the impact of mass tourism.

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.

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.

Regular foot ferry service also exists in the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, and across the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia at Newport.

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.

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.

[48] 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".

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).

[62] 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.

[64] 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.