The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), Pinellas County, FL, has announced the purchase of both the Bay Breeze and Clipper, two vessels that will soon make up the future Tampa Bay Ferry fleet.
Purchase of the vessels marks a major milestone in the agency’s efforts to launch a permanent passenger ferry service between St. Petersburg and Tampa.
Both vessels have successfully completed inspections and sea trials prior to purchase, and are scheduled to begin their journeys to Florida later this month.
The Bay Breeze in San Francisco and the Clipper in Seattle will be loaded onto separate heavy-lift vessels, and will pass through the Panama Canal en route to a Fort Lauderdale shipyard before undergoing refurbishment, painting, and other upgrades before traveling to Tampa Bay for final testing and service preparation.
Brad Miller, PSTA CEO, said:Finding the right vessels was one of the biggest hurdles in launching this service.
Now that we’ve officially purchased the Bay Breeze and Clipper, we can focus on getting them ready to serve Tampa Bay passengers for years to come.
The new Tampa Bay Ferry service is being developed by PSTA in partnership with Hubbard’s Marina, which will operate the service.
In April; the PSTA Board of Directors’ gave unanimous approval to both acquire and renovate two vessels using a 4,863,280 USD federal grant awarded specifically for the development of the Tampa Bay Ferry service.
The grants have funded the purchase and shipping of the vessels, the nationwide vessel search, mechanical inspections and sea trials, and the refurbishment needed to prepare the boats for passenger service.
Captain Mark Hubbard, president at Hubbard’s Marina, said:Hubbard’s Marina searched across the country to find vessels that would be the right fit for Tampa Bay, and we’re confident we’ve found them.
Now our focus turns to preparing the Bay Breeze and Clipper for their new role. Over the coming months, we’ll oversee the refurbishment process and work alongside PSTA to get these vessels ready to welcome passengers.
The new Tampa Bay Ferry service is being developed as a two-vessel operation in an effort to improve on the previous Cross-Bay Ferry model by providing greater operational flexibility and reliability. With a set of two vessels in service, PSTA aims to be able to maintain operations even when one boat is undergoing routine maintenance, helping create a more dependable service for riders.
