The growing interest in water transport is driving ferry services and the development of water transport in several coastal cities across the United States.
The new Bremerton high-speed ferry terminal in Bremerton, Washington, transports passengers to downtown Seattle in just 30 minutes, compared to the previous hourly service. Nearby is Marina Square, featuring 270 apartments, a waterfront park, restaurants, and a market. A mixed-use complex is also planned, including studios and fully furnished suites for workers at the Kitsap Naval Base, the region's largest employer, located four blocks away. Over the past seven years, three dedicated high-speed ferry routes to Seattle have opened in the area, capable of carrying between 120 and 350 passengers. This service transported over one million passengers in 2023, a 37% increase year-over-year.
Carteret County in New Jersey recently approved a $1 billion project that includes Carteret Stages, a 15-story film and television production studio, hotel, retail spaces, and restaurants, to be built on a site previously occupied by DuPont Chemical nearly 60 years ago. The site will also include a ferry terminal offering a 20-minute service to Manhattan, connecting 21 piers and providing approximately 4.6 million ferry trips per year across six routes linking Manhattan's economic and commercial hub with Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Carteret lacks a rail station, and local highways are often congested. Therefore, a ferry, expected to begin operations next year, will be a much-needed alternative transportation option to New York City.
Ferry services are also central to the development of a new community on Treasure Island—an artificial island on the shores of San Francisco Bay. It's a new residential area with commercial and retail space, a park, and 8,000 apartments under construction, estimated to be just a 10-minute ferry ride from the city center. Last summer, the Washington State Ferry System reopened its main ferry terminal in Seattle after a $467 million renovation, reconnecting the city center to Puget Sound. The city government is also aiming to build a fleet of zero-emission electric ferries by 2050. Last year, a new ferry service in Lynn, Massachusetts, also saw success when a development company purchased an adjacent plot of land that had been vacant for 40 years and built the Breakwater North Harbor complex with 331 apartments. From this complex, it's just a 2-minute ferry ride to downtown Boston.
It is evident that Americans are using waterways not only as part of their commutes but also as an integral part of their daily lives. Coastal city governments have been actively implementing strategies in collaboration with local communities and investors to utilize ferries as a much-needed transit link. Simultaneously, this creates opportunities for waterway development, addressing social, economic, and environmental challenges such as traffic congestion, connecting communities, and meeting housing and commercial development goals.
HANH CHI
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