The New South Wales government has signed contracts for a 24-metre battery electric ferry, with a 12-month trial now set to begin in 2028 and a planned route to the new Sydney fish market in 2029. The project is running two years behind the original schedule, which had targeted a 2026 start.
Two years behind schedule
The delay pushes back the state's first zero-emission passenger ferry by more than 24 months. Government statements from earlier in the decade had flagged a 2026 launch, but the contract signing comes well after that target. The transport minister confirmed the new timeline but did not give a reason for the slip.
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What the ferry will do
The 24-metre vessel will undergo a 12-month trial beginning in 2028, testing battery-electric propulsion on Sydney Harbour. If successful, it will be deployed on a route serving the new Sydney fish market, which is expected to open in 2029. The ferry is part of a broader push to electrify the city's public transport fleet, though concrete milestones beyond this boat remain unclear.
Infrastructure questions
Running a battery electric ferry on a regular route means building charging hubs along the harbour. The government has not yet published details on where those stations will go or how much power they'll draw. That could add pressure to Sydney's grid at peak times, especially near the fish market redevelopment zone. For now, those are gaps the contract signing does not fill.
Broader context
The two-year gap between the original plan and the contract is a small but concrete example of how green infrastructure projects slip. New South Wales has pledged to cut emissions across transport, but timelines keep moving right. For a project this modest — one 24-metre ferry — the delay might seem minor. But it fits a pattern: governments announce, sign, and then wait. The trial won't start for another two years, and the route won't run until 2029 at the earliest. That's a long lead time for a single boat.
The next milestone to watch is the start of the trial in 2028. Until then, the ferry exists only on paper — and in a signed contract.
