KEYPORT FAST FERRY
TO RESUME FULL SERVICE

A brand new ferry could be pulling into Keyport any day now, right around the time the Borough’s 6th Annual Country Jamboree & Food Festival pulls into town.

At a meeting with the Keyport Borough Council and the Harbor Commission on September 23, New York Fast Ferry President John Koenig said a new boat is scheduled for delivery in early October. The boat has been sailing north from Mobile, Ala., where it was built.

The new craft will have a 220-passenger capacity and will sail at a cruising speed of 29 knots. The new ferry will restore commuter service from Keyport that had been reduced in the wake of last year’s September 11 attacks. Koenig said service also would be augmented by a second craft, with three departures to New York City in the morning. There will be three late afternoon and early evening return trips to Keyport, Koenig said.

Koenig and Michael Cummins, president of Keyport Fast Ferry, said weekday service to Manhattan, launched in October of last year, had averaged about 700 passengers a day before the reductions. Koenig said the company had to return two of the ferries it had leased in April, and was losing about $80,000 a month since then, when it began using two rented fishing boats to keep the ferry service to New York operating.

New York Fast Ferry has been operating ferries for more than six years, including its Highlands service for nearly four years. Keyport Fast Ferry handles landside operations, including negotiations with government regulatory agencies and arrangements for parking and other Borough improvements related to the ferry service.

Parking for the ferry is available in the Front and Beers streets area at the Borough’s waterfront, a short distance from the downtown shopping district.

Jeff Fink, president of the Keyport Business Alliance, host of this weekend’s Jamboree, says business owners are especially positive about the expanded ferry service. “It’s a good thing for Keyport and a valuable service for Bayshore commuters,” Fink said.

Fink said the influx of commuters brings with it people who live nearby but outside the Borough. “They can see the changes and improvements in the business district as they’re taking place,” said Fink. “When they like what they see, they come back during their leisure time to shop or have dinner.”

The new craft also will be used for promotional trips on weekends. Packages for theater and shopping trips, sporting events and fall foliage tours will be offered.

Additional information is available at New York Fast Ferry’s Website, www.nyff.com or by calling 1-800-NYF-NYFF or 732-291-2210.