More than a 100 years later, LBI ferry service set to once again launch

The long-awaited ferry service between Tuckerton and Long Beach Island in southern Ocean County is set to begin.

Originally planned for an early August launch, officials with the Tuckerton Seaport say the ferry was late to arrive because of multiple required safety inspections in Florida followed by Hurricane Florence’s floodwaters delaying shipping north.

According to seaport officials, the ferry is in the water and “ready to go,” awaiting a final safety inspection. Trips are free.

The 25-seat pontoon boat will depart from the mainland Tuckerton Seaport, cruise through the Tuckerton Creek, and head across the bay to Beach Haven’s Taylor Avenue Municipal Dock.

It’s named the Pohatcong II, a nod to the Pohatcong, a steam powered paddle wheeler that ferried passengers from a train station in Tuckerton to Beach Haven in the late 1880s, according to Pepenella.

Ferry service between the mainland and Long Beach Island was last offered during the early 1900s.

The project is mainly financed by an anonymous Tuckerton Seaport supporter, although some public money has been pledged by the Borough of Beach Haven.

The Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce tested the idea with a few popular trips departing the Tuckerton Seaport last summer.

Southern Ocean Chamber of Commerce CEO Lori Pepenella told the The SandPaper last summer that the idea had been at least 10 years in the making.

Follow the Tuckerton Seaport’s Facebook page for the launch date and schedule.