Sydney Inner Harbour Passenger Ferries

The Project

The Sydney Inner Harbour Passenger Ferries was the first significant ferry procurement project in NSW in over 15 years as part of the NSW Long Term Transport Master Plan to meet growing patronage demand and replacement of the existing fleet. The project objectives were to deliver 6 new high speed, low wash ferries capable of carrying 400 passengers whilst maintaining the iconic heritage look and feel of the existing First Fleet ferries. The introduction of the Inner Harbour Ferries was to be delivered to support the introduction of a new cross harbour route linking the Barangaroo Ferry wharf to Watson’s Bay.

The procurement of the Inner Harbour Ferries saw bidders from Australia and overseas participate in an open market tender. The project was awarded to Incat Tasmania in September 2015. Incat Tasmania designed and built the ferries in Hobart and progressively delivered them to Sydney between December 2016 and November 2017.

The Sydney Inner Harbour Passenger Ferries was the first significant ferry procurement project in NSW in over 15 years. 

Key features of the project include:

• 6 new Inner Harbour Passenger Ferries;
• Iconic heritage aesthetic maintained in the new vessels;
• Modern technology for passengers and crew;
• DSAPT compliance and accessibility optimised for all passengers; 
• Different market norms for maritime construction of vessels compared to infrastructure projects delivered by TfNSW.

Our Services

ConnellGriffin, as the contract manager for the project, was responsible for the facilitation of commercial tender assessment and diligent administration of the contract through delivery of the project to completion of the first vessel.

The services provided by our contract manager included:

• preparing correspondence to tenderers regarding commercial clarifications and tenderer queries;
• managing the commercial evaluation of tenders; 
• facilitating issue resolution, and appropriately capturing agreed positions in the contract documentation;
• co-ordinated legal advisors in the resolution of contract clarifications (internal and external);
• providing a high level of commercial support during negotiations and contract finalisation with the Preferred Tenderer;
• commercial contract management during the delivery phase of the project;
• management and assessment of variations and claims;
• assisting in the resolution of project risks and issues.