One fleet, 9 vessel classes
We operate the iconic Sydney Ferries fleet, with 9 different classes of vessels, covering 38 wharves over ten key routes.
Our fleet
Freshwater class
The Freshwater class of ferries operate the Manly ferry service and are the oldest continually serving vessels in the fleet.
They are named after beautiful beaches in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney. The fleet of four Freshwater class ferries are:
- Freshwater
- Queenscliff
First Fleet class
The First Fleet Class are a Sydney Ferries icon. The fleet consists of nine catamaran ferries delivered between 1984 and 1986. The vessels were named after ships of the First Fleet:
- Borrowdale
- Fishburn
- Scarborough
- Supply
- Friendship
- Alexander
- Charlotte
- Golden Grove
- Sirius
Emerald class
The Emerald Class Ferries entered service during 2017. They are named after leading figures in Australian and Aboriginal history in the fields of literature, medicine, politics and exploration:
- Catherine Hamlin
- Fred Hollows
- Victor Chang
- Pemulwuy
- Bungaree
- May Gibbs
MiniCat class
The MiniCat vessel is a small catamaran built in 2019 to operate the new On-Demand ferry trial service. The name of the vessel, Me-Mel, comes from the Aboriginal name for Goat Island.
RiverClass
Ten River Class vessels entered in service between 2021 and 2022.
They are designed for conditions along the Parramatta River but will also serve customers right across the ferry network. All the vessels have been named in honour of notable people who left a mark in NSW’s culture:
- Ethel Turner
- Ruth Park
- Cheryl Salisbury
- Lauren Jackson
- Liz Ellis
- Kurt Fearnley
- Olive Cotton
- Margaret Olley
- Esme Timbery
- Ruby Langford Ginib
Emerald Gen 2
The new addition to the Sydney Ferries fleet, the three new Emerald Gen 2 arrived in Sydney in late July 2021 from Port Macquarie. These vessels have been purpose built to operate the Manly to Circular Quay route, with a reinforced hull able to handle Sydney Heads swells. They are also fully accessible, significantly reduce carbon emissions and will allow for more weekly services to be added to this busy route to better suit the needs of customers.
RiverCat class
The RiverCats are a class of catamarans built between 1992 and 1995 and they operate the Parramatta River services. All seven were named after famous Australian female athletes:
- Marjorie Jackson
- Evonne Goolagong
- Dawn Fraser
- Nicole Livingstone
- Marlene Mathews
- Shane Gould
Parramatta River Class
7 new vessels will replace the former RiverCats which will be retired.
Each vessel in the new Parramatta River Class fleet will have a 200-person capacity, while using 40% less diesel and are also future proofed for conversion to electric propulsion when the technology and network infrastructure become available.
The first Australian built Parramatta River Class ferry has entered in passenger service in April 2024 and the next six are expected to arrive in Sydney in the coming months.
