Beloved Penang ferries given new life as tourist attractions after being withdrawn from service
- Double-decker ferries mothballed since the start of 2021 plied a route nearly as old as Hong Kong’s Star Ferry until bridges made them obsolete
- After an outcry when one nearly sank, new uses were announced for them – as floating restaurants, pleasure cruisers, a museum and an art space
On the last day of 2020, the iconic double-decker ferries connecting Penang island’s main city, George Town, to Butterworth, on the Malaysian mainland, were withdrawn from a service that has been in operation for more than 120 years.
It was the end of an era, and hundreds of people, young and old, flocked to take one last ride across the Penang Strait, the retirement apparently reminding them of the historical importance of a service that has been diminished by the practicality of the two bridges linking to the Malaysian mainland, opened in 1985 and 2014.
“Regardless of race and social status, a ferry ride across the Penang Channel was an iconic experience,” says Penang-born comic-book artist Lefty Julian.
It wasn’t initially clear what fate awaited the six vessels that had been mothballed. However, last month, following a public outcry, the Penang Port Commission made an announcement that is sure to enhance the island’s tourism credentials.
The first Penang ferries entered service in either 1893 or 1894 – five or six years after Hong Kong’s Star Ferry, then known as the Kowloon Ferry Company, began operations. Funded by local Chinese entrepreneur Quah Beng Kee, they were the only public link between Penang and the railway to Singapore.
The original fleet consisted of three large steamers and seven launches that shuttled between Penang’s Kedah Pier and the Bagan Tuan Kecil Pier, in Butterworth, occasionally connecting to nearby towns on the mainland such as Bukit Tambun. From 1925, cars were transported across on floating decks towed by the launches, until a steam ferry vessel was introduced soon afterwards.
