‘Like a Kinder Surprise’: Manly ferry dishes up the unexpected

Sydney’s renowned Manly ferries might be the largest vessels in the NSW government fleet, but one of them – the Narrabeen – is dwarfed in the giant dry-dock at Sydney’s Garden Island when parked in front of a naval vessel.

“For our biggest boats in our fleet, they look very small,” Transport for NSW ferry projects director Tony New explained.

New admits to a level of nervousness whenever the large Manly ferries enter the 347-metre-long dry dock, and the Narrabeen delivered surprises when the water was pumped out at Garden Island.

“They’re 40-year-plus boats, and they’re a little bit like a Kinder Surprise. Until you start pulling them apart, you don’t know what you’re going to get,” he said. “You know what’s above the water, but it’s not until you get below it.”

The Narrabeen in dry dock at Garden Island. It will return to the water on Friday.Credit: Wolter Peeters

New said engineers found the Narrabeen required more extensive repairs than its sister ferry, the Queenscliff, due to a higher amount of rust on the hull and near internal fittings.

“The hull plating was a bit of a surprise to us. We expected that there would be some corrosion, as you would expect on a boat sitting in water, but we have had to do a bit more work than we first anticipated,” he said.

The Narrabeen was originally meant to enter the dry dock last year but was bumped from the queue by one of the navy’s defect-plagued Spanish-built warships. It can often prove difficult to gain a slot at Garden Island because the navy is given precedence.

The $18 million of work to the Narrabeen comprises a rebuild of its two engines and the installation of a new control system, as well as repairs to the rudders and propellers. The refit initially began last year at Cockatoo Island, and included a refresh of the internal fittings such as seats and roof panels.

The ferry is due to be re-floated on Friday and towed back to Cockatoo Island for final repairs and sea trials before returning to service on the Manly-Circular Quay route in late July or early August – about two years after it was withdrawn from passenger service.

The Freshwater ferry will be the next to enter Garden Island’s dry dock as early as August for similar repairs, and is likely to return to the Manly route in February or March next year.

The Queenscliff returned to service in late 2023 after two new 2.5-metre propellers were installed during its dry-docking at Garden Island.

However, the Collaroy – the youngest of the four Freshwater-class ferries synonymous with Sydney’s busiest route – was pulled from service in September 2023 and will not return because the government has deemed it “prohibitively expensive” due to its “one-of-a-kind build”. The ferry’s fate lies in the hands of potential buyers or community groups.

The Narrabeen ferry nears the end of its time in dry dock.Credit: Wolter Peeters

Expressions of interest in the Collaroy closed this month, and the responses are likely to be presented to the government shortly for consideration.

All up, the government has budgeted $71 million to refurbish three of the four large double-ended ferries, which covers the cost of dry-docking and extending the vessels’ service life.

The extensive refits will buy the three vessels another five-year survey, a licence to operate which New said was akin to a “car rego”.

Despite the major repairs, the three remaining Freshwater-class ferries are set to be retired by July 2030 unless their licences to operate are extended again.

Under the state government’s medium-term plans, all diesel-powered vessels in the state’s 40-strong fleet of various sizes will be replaced with locally built electric or hydrogen ferries by 2035.

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