 | |
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| Locale | New Jersey New York |
|---|---|
| Waterway | Hudson River East River New York Bay |
| Transit type | Passenger ferry Excursions Sightseeing |
| Owner | Seastreak LLC |
| Began operation | 1986 |
| No. of lines | 3 |
| No. of vessels | 10 |
| No. of terminals | 13 |
| Daily ridership | 2,506 (daily average, March 2023)[1] |
| Website | seastreak |
Seastreak is a privateferry company operating in thePort of New York and New Jersey and inNew England. It provides high-speed commuter service between points on theRaritan Bayshore inMonmouth County, New Jersey and inManhattan inNew York City as well as special event and sightseeing excursions in the harbor and seasonal service to the New England coast.
Seastreak began operation in 1986 as TNT Hydrolines, a subsidiary ofTNT of Australia operating commuter ferry services betweenNew Jersey andNew York City.[2][3]
In 1994 all of TNT's maritime assets were acquired byHolyman of Australia and the ferry service name was changed to Express Navigation. In 1999Sea Containers acquired Express Navigation.[4] The company was renamed Seastreak. Following Sea Containers filing for bankruptcy in 2006, Seastreak was sold to New England Fast Ferry in 2008.[5]
Seastreak operates a fleet of tendiesel-powered double-hulledcatamarans. The MVNantucket Express is propelled by a Servogear CPP Propeller System, while the MVSeastreak Highlands, MVNantucket Express, MVSeastreak New Jersey, and MVSeastreak New York are propelled by high speed water jets. These vessels all 141 foot long, owned by Seastreak; each has a capacity of 505 passengers and travels at a top speed of 38 knots (44 mph). The vessels were designed inAustralia byIncat Designs, and built in theUnited States by theGladding-Hearn Shipbuilding inSomerset, Massachusetts.[6]
TheOcean State is a 65-foot vessel owned by New England Fast Ferry; it has a capacity of 149 passengers and can travel up to 29 knots (33 mph). It is used as the ferry for the seasonalProvidence toNewport route.[7] The vessel was built by Merrifield-Roberts ofBristol. It is propelled by a pair of ZF propellers.[8]
TheMartha's Vineyard Express andWhaling City Express are 95-foot vessels owned by New England Fast Ferry and have a capacity of 149 passengers and can travel up to 29 knots (33 mph). The vessels were built by Derecktor Shipyards ofMamaroneck.[9] They operate between thePort of New Bedford andMartha's Vineyard during the summer months but began a reduced year-round service in 2023. They are propelled by fixed-pitched propellers.
Past vessels have included theSeastreak Manhattan, theSeastreak Brooklyn, and theSeastreak Liberty, among a few others. All of these catamaran ferries were designed by Incat Designs.
Seastreak announced construction of a 600-passenger high-speed luxury ferry in September 2016 for service between theJersey Shore andManhattan, anticipated to enter service in 2017.[10] Construction took longer than planned, and the vessel, named theCommodore, was launched in March 2018,[11] entering service the next month. The vessel has 520 seats indoors and 240 seats outdoors,[12] with a top speed of 35 knots, and a length of 150 feet. It is propelled by high speed water jets.[13][14]
TheCourageous was delivered in December 2021[15] but initially remained out of service due to decreased ridership following theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[16] It was built with the intention of accommodating more passengers on its East Side route as well as running the New Jersey/New York to Martha's Vineyard/Nantucket trips. TheCourageous has a length of 157 feet. It is currently the largest high-speed passenger ferry in the United States. It is propelled by high speed water jets.
TheMillennium is the tenth and newest member of the Seastreak ferry fleet, built in 1998, It began its Seastreak service on July 31, 2023. It is primarily utilized to accommodate passengers traveling between Belford/Middletown and Manhattan. The vessel can hold 406 passengers and crew as well as reach a top speed of 36 knots. Before its extensive refit in early 2023, it served as a member of the Rhode Island Fast Ferry fleet out ofQuonset Point, Rhode Island and was originally built byGladding-Hearn Shipbuilding. It is propelled by high speed water jets.[17]
Seastreak routes connect the towns ofAtlantic Highlands andHighlands inMonmouth County, New Jersey withBattery Maritime Building Slip 5 and theEast 34th Street Ferry Landing on theEast River in Manhattan. Seastreak also connectsBelford to BMB,Battery Park City Ferry Terminal,Paulus Hook Ferry Terminal, andWest Midtown Ferry Terminal on theHudson River. During the morning rush hour, the trip from theRaritan Bayshore to Manhattan takes approximately 40 minutes. From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, service is also provided to the public beaches inSandy Hook a few times each day. Service used to be provided toYankee Stadium for selectNew York Yankees games and toCiti Field forNew York Mets games on weekends. However, that service was discontinued before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In March of 2025, it was announced that Seastreak would restart service to select Mets games at Citi Field and will depart from Highlands, NJ and theSt. George Terminal onStaten Island, New York. The company has long offered "special event cruises" such as sightseeing excursions, sunset cruises, trips toBroadway matinees, college football games atWest Point, the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks, theMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and to see the fall foliage in theHudson Valley.
On July 17, 2009, Seastreak began providing weekend service from Highlands, NJ and New York City to Martha's Vineyard. One ferry departs New York City on Friday afternoon and returns on Sunday night. The trip throughLong Island Sound and along the shoreline ofRhode Island andMassachusetts takes approximately five to six hours.[18] The seasonal service was extended to Nantucket beginning in 2015.[19] Before launching its service to Martha's Vineyard, Seastreak had expressed an interest in providing a similar service on summer weekends toSag Harbor inthe Hamptons, but there were concerns over traffic and ferry service is a non-permitted use in the village code.[20]
AfterHurricane Sandy in October 2012 destroyed much of theIND Rockaway Line (A train), severing most subway service between theRockaway peninsula ofQueens, Seastreak began running a city-subsidized ferry service between a makeshift ferry slip at Beach 108th Street andBeach Channel Drive inRockaway Park andPier 11/Wall Street in Manhattan'sFinancial District, then continuing on to theEast 34th Street Ferry Landing.[21] In August 2013, a stop was added atBrooklyn Army Terminal in advance of the temporary closure of theMontague Street Tunnel (R train) betweenBrooklyn and Manhattan.[22] In December 2013, it was reported that since inception, the run between Rockaway and Manhattan had attracted an average of about 730 passengers per day, on top of the approximately 250 daily passengers traveling between Brooklyn and Manhattan.[23] The ferry by that time had carried nearly 200,000 passengers since its inception, according to city officials.[24]
Originally intended as a stopgap alternative transportation measure only for the months until subway service was restored at the end of May in 2013, the ferry service proved to be popular with locals, and the city's contract with Seastreak was initially extended until July 2013[25] and then was subsequently extended again, first till mid-October 2013 and then until January 2014.[26] Community organizations, activists and elected officials in Rockaway and Brooklyn campaigned for a permanent extension of the subsidized service.[27] Though full service on the Montague Street Tunnel was restored in mid-September 2014, many commuters continued to take the ferry, despite its extra $1 cost over the subway fare. In mid-October, MayorBill de Blasio visited Rockaway and declared that the time had come to end the ferry service, since all of the subway service that it had replaced was now back in operation.[28] Despite efforts from other local officials,[29][30] the ferry last ran on October 31, 2014, after Seastreak was unsuccessful in procuring an extension of the service.[31] Rockaway ferry service resumed on May 1, 2017, as part of theNYC Ferry service, which is operated byHornblower Cruises.[32]
In October 2003, eight passengers were evacuated toStaten Island after a fire broke out aboard a ferry heading to theRaritan Bayshore.[33]
On January 9, 2013, at around 8:45 a.m., MVSeastreak Wall Street, arriving atPier 11 fromAtlantic Highlands, rammed into the mooring as it was docking, leaving a visible gash in the ferry stretching several feet above the water line. The president of the ferry company,James R. Barker, toldNBC News that morning that there were 300 aboard and that many of those injured were thrown from their seats. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.[34][35][36][37] Eighty-five people were injured, two critically. According to the captain, the control system of the boat[38] failed to respond.[39][40][41] Lawsuits seeking damages have been brought by injured passengers.[42] As of May 16, 2013, the deadline for filing, thirty-seven claims had been made against the company. The case will be heard inadmiralty court since the accident took place on navigable waters.[43]
On June 5, 2021, at around 4:15 p.m., theCommodore ran aground in theBushwick Inlet in Brooklyn. One crew member was injured, and approximately 100 passengers were evacuated.[44]
The ferry is seen during a romantic moment passing underneath theBrooklyn Bridge in the movieStep Up 3D. It is seen still operating in the year 2021 in the movieClick. A ferry is also seen moving down theEast River in the final shot of the 2002 filmGangs of New York, in which the Brooklyn Bridge and theWorld Trade Center can be seen.[45]