Penang exco says new ferry service operating at a loss of RM14m a year; unsubsidised diesel main reason

GEORGE TOWN, Nov 25 — Penang’s ferry service recorded an annual loss of about RM14 million a year, the state legislative assembly heard today.

State transport, infrastructure and digital committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the total ticket collection for the ferry could only cover about 35 per cent of the costs of the ferry operations.

“Based on the Penang Port Sdn Bhd financial records, the costs of operations of the new ferries are higher than the ticket collection,” he said when replying an oral question to Teh Lai Heng (PH-Komtar) on the total losses of the ferry service at the state legislative assembly here.

Zairil said among the factors that contributed to the losses were the high costs of diesel as there was no subsidy for diesel for the ferry service despite it being a public transport in Penang.

“There is also the annual maintenance and scheduled inspection costs to ensure the safety of the ferries along with the annual service insurance of more than RM2 million for each ferry,” he said.

Penang Port Sdn Bhd introduced four new fast ferries last year to ply the route between the island and Butterworth on the mainland, replacing the iconic ferries.

According to Zairil, between January and October 2024, a total 1.76 million passengers used the ferry service while 600,000 two-wheeled vehicles used the service.