Govt mulls return of iconic Penang ferry

The government is considering bringing back the iconic Penang ferry, the services of which were terminated in 2020. 

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the ferries were still available for service and spoke of plans for them to operate again in the future. 

"We will look into what form of operation this iconic ferry will take, whether it will be a tourist ferry, a roro ferry or a museum ferry. 

"We will hold discussions with the Penang Port Commission regarding this later," he told reporters in Penang yesterday.

Loke also said the plan could face some challenges in terms of operation as the old terminal had long been refurbished to accommodate new ferries.

"The refurbishment project on both the island and mainland terminals currently cannot accommodate the iconic ferry operations involving four-wheeled vehicles," he said.  

The oldest form of transport in Penang, the ferry service, as an alternative route from Seberang Perai to the island and vice versa, was replaced by speedboat services on Jan 1, 2021.

The speedboats are only used to transport pedestrians while the ferry only carries motorcycles and bicycles.

Loke said the new ferry services would begin operations on Aug 1, carrying only pedestrians and motorcycles.

He said although there had been requests for the new ferry service to also transport four-wheeled vehicles, the four new pre-booked ferries only had the capacity for pedestrians and motorcycles.