[1][2] In 1611 James I granted land on either side of the Lough to Peirce Tumolton in order to maintain and crew a ferry boat.

In 1835 a group of local people formed the "Portaferry and Strangford Steamboat Company" and commissioned the building of the Lady of the Lake, which was the first steam ferry in Ireland.

In 1946 two converted World War II landing craft were introduced, capable of accommodating about 36 passengers and two motor cars, but the following year one of these capsized with the loss of one life.

A second new vessel, MV Strangford II, was delivered in 2016 but her introduction was delayed until February of the following year when it was discovered that she was unable to discharge cars at high tide.

Transport NI, an executive agency of the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure, operates the ferry service.

The service is responsible for transporting more than 300 school students every day between schools in Portaferry, Downpatrick and Ballynahinch, County Down subsidised public service operates at a loss of more than £1m per year but is viewed as an important transport link to the Ards Peninsula.