Kangaroo Island SeaLink

Kangaroo Island SeaLink
Founded1989
Area served
Backstairs Passage
Revenue$54.1 million (June 2015)
ParentKelsian Group
Websitewww.sealink.com.au
Sealion 2000 arriving at Penneshaw in November 2007
The Kangaroo Island SeaLInk ferry loading cars at Cape Jervis, South Australia

Kangaroo Island SeaLink is a ferry company and tour operator in South Australia. It is owned by the Kelsian Group. Since 1989, it has run ferry trips between mainland South Australia and Kangaroo Island. From 1989 to 1994, the company was owned by a Malaysian company called MBF. In 1994, the company was sold to a group of staff and people living on Kangaroo Island. SeaLink has two ferries now, called Sealion 2000 and Spirit of Kangaroo Island. These ferries travel across Backstairs Passage from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw in about 45 minutes. They make up to 10 trips each day.

SeaLink took over an earlier ferry service started by Peter March. The first ferry they used was Philanderer 3, which could carry cars. Later, they used another ferry called Island Navigator, bought in 1990, mainly to carry freight and fuel.

Since SeaLink started, other companies have tried to run ferry services too. Boat Torque, from Western Australia, ran a ferry called Superfly from 1994 to 1997. Kangaroo Island Ferries tried a service with a ferry called SeaWay from September 2004 to February 2005. SeaWay started again in August 2007 but stopped in May 2008 when the company went into administration.

SeaLink mostly controls the ferry service because it has a long-term lease for the Cape Jervis ferry dock. In 2021, SeaLink said it won a contract to run the Kangaroo Island ferry service for 25 more years, starting in 2024 when the old contract ends. Some people on Kangaroo Island are unhappy about SeaLink having this exclusive deal.

SeaLink used to get government help to lower freight costs, but this stopped in 2003.

New ferries

Arriving at Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island, on the SeaLink ferry

As part of the new contract in 2021, SeaLink announced two new ferries to replace the older Sealion 2000 and Spirit of Kangaroo Island. These new ferries will be the same design. Sea Transport Solutions is designing them. They will be roll-on roll-off ferries, meaning cars can drive on and off easily using ramps at the front and back. The new ferries will be 60 m (200 ft) long, which is 10 m (33 ft) longer than the current ones, and 20 m (66 ft) wide.

References

  1. ↑ "Ferry for sale". The Islander News. 19 June 2008. Archived from the original on 1 January 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
  2. ↑ "SeaLink secures Kangaroo Island ferry contract for next 25 years". The Islander News. 6 March 2023. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "Kangaroo Island residents unhappy about ferry agreement". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 August 2002. Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2007.
  4. ↑ "SeaLink secures Kangaroo Island ferry contract for next 25 years". The Islander News. 9 December 2021. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  5. ↑ "Towards the new Kangaroo Island Ferry Service in 2024". Kelsian Group. 6 March 2023. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.