Image supply, Kent County Council
The ferry has been working between Gravesend and Tilbury since 2017
- Author, Bob Dale
- Role, BBC News, South East
A ferry service connecting Essex and Kent throughout the River Thames will end on Saturday.
Jetstream, which had operated the service since 2017, stated in February that it couldn’t proceed operations after shedding funding from Thurrock Council, in Essex.
The firm stated talks with Kent County Council failed to discover a long run answer.
The final crusing will depart Tilbury, in Essex, for Gravesend, in Kent, at 19:10 GMT on 30 March.
Jetstream had been operating 52 sailings a day, besides on Sundays and financial institution holidays.
More than 100,000 passenger journeys are made yearly on the ferry service.
Crossings take between 5 and 10 minutes, relying on river site visitors.
The ferry operator stated short-term renewals of the contract from Thurrock Council have been “not tenable for business or staff”.
Thurrock Council chief Andrew Jefferies has described the choice as “disappointing”, however stated he hoped an alternate supplier could possibly be discovered.
‘Sustainable answer’
A Kent County Council spokesperson stated: “It is disappointing that the Gravesend to Tilbury ferry has had to halt its service.
“We have labored exhausting to strive to safe an extension to the contract whereas we discover a long-term future for the crossing, however this has not been potential.
“Supported by the outcomes of our current public session, we’ll proceed to work to safe a sustainable long-term answer for the ferry.”
