KI Connect resumes regular services to Penneshaw after dredging
KANGAROO Island’s second passenger ferry service has resumed operations after weeks of inaction due to dredging.
KANGAROO Island’s second passenger ferry service has resumed operations after weeks of inaction due to dredging.
KI Connect last week completed dredging at the Cape Jervis harbour to allow its catamaran to resume its regular morning and evening services.
A sandbar had forced the ferry to moor at the local jetty or stop operating at low tide from September.
The disruption came only weeks after the catamaran had returned to service following a berthing crash that destroyed its $10,000 propeller.
Business owner David Harris, who launched the passenger-only service in early June, said the amount of the dredging had been “horrific”.
“We took 400 cubic metres of sand out and now we can run around the clock, finally,” Mr Harris said.
“It’s been very difficult to dredge during winter and the extent of it has been horrific.”
Mr Harris had appealed to the State Government for help to dredge the harbour, but said the company paid for the works itself.
“It’s been a massive problem overcoming the infrastructure shortfall,” he said.
Mr Harris said the resumption of services would now allow tourists a more affordable way to visit the Island from the mainland.
The company planned to add an additional lunchtime service from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw and American River during the upcoming school holidays.
The high-speed catamaran travels between Cape Jervis and Penneshaw in 30 minutes.
Tickets on the ferry are $27.50, or $25 online.