look into taking over
fledgling business
Other ferry operators
look into taking over
fledgling business
By maura dowgin
Staff Writer
Commuter ferry service from Keyport to New York may be a thing of the past.
The new commuter ferry has still not arrived, and no one is saying when it might be coming. In addition, the whole operation might not be viable because of limited parking for commuters and problems with water depth.
John Koenig, owner of New York Fast Ferry, said he does not feel comfortable saying when the new Keyport ferry will be arriving to take commuters from Keyport to Manhattan.
The boat is still in the possession of Austal, USA, based out of Mobile, Ala. Austal is the company that built the boat.
"The financing is in place. We’re waiting to close on the vessel," Anthony Cappaze, CEO of Lighthouse Fast Ferry, said last week.
As of press time Monday, Cappaze had not returned repeated phone calls since Dec. 2.
The initial plan was to have an investment group purchase the $3 million boat from Austal, with Lighthouse chartering the boat from the group.
One of the investors, however, backed out of the deal, Koenig said.
"We learned on Nov. 15 that the group that was purchasing the new vessel was not prepared to close on the purchase. Evidently, the group felt that the already substantial risks of buying a ferry to operate in Keyport had increased with the opening of the Belford service and its $15 million, publicly financed terminal," according to a letter from New York Fast Ferry to the borough.
With the fate of the boat still up in the air, Koenig and Michael Cummins, owner of the land operation of the ferry, called Keyport Fast Ferry, are looking for other operators to take over the Keyport ferry service.
"There are a couple of different operators that are looking into Keyport," Cummins said.
New York Waterway, operator of the Belford ferry commuter service, and SeaStreak, operator of the Highlands and Atlantic Highlands ferry services, may be interested in taking over the Keyport route.
"We are looking into the possibility of providing service there," said Pat Smith, spokesman for New York Waterway.
There are some problems with the site, Smith said.
The problems include water depth and a lack of parking, Smith said.
The water is too shallow and there are limitations during low tide, Smith said.
This problem can be fixed two ways — the dock could be moved somewhere where the water is deeper, or the water where the dock is needs to be dredged, Smith said.
New York Fast Ferry currently pays $40,000 a year for 39 parking spaces in a lot on the corner of American Legion Drive and West Front Street.
There are also problems with the length of the one-year parking lease, Cummins said.
"Businesses are afraid to make major commitments for one year," Cummins said.