San Francisco Bay Ferry welcomes new vessel

San Francisco Bay Ferry and its partners are celebrating the arrival of the MV Delphinus, the newest high-speed passenger vessel to join its fleet.

MV Delphinus carries 320 passengers and will operate primarily on the Vallejo route. The vessel, which is the second in the Dorado class, can operate on all SF Bay Ferry routes due to its combination of speed and size.

"I am thrilled to welcome MV Delphinus into our ferry fleet, marking a significant enhancement for commuters from Vallejo and beyond,” said Assemblymember Lori Wilson. “As Chair of Transportation, I am particularly proud of the strides we've made in providing a more reliable, faster, and modern ferry experience, thanks to the support of our state and federal partners.”

Vessel construction was funded through the Federal Transit Administration and the State of California’s Proposition 1B in collaboration with the California Office of Emergency Services.

Several design modifications were made to MV Delphinus in response to passenger feedback. Vinyl siding has been added to a portion of the second deck to provide additional shelter, and heaters will be installed in that section soon. Improved bike racks are being fabricated and will be installed on MV Delphinus and MV Dorado soon.

SF Bay Ferry — administered by the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) — was the fastest growing transit operator in the region prior to the pandemic, with more than 3 million passengers in 2019. Under the agency’s Pandemic Recovery Program, which took effect in July 2021, ferry ridership has recovered 80% of pre-pandemic levels, one of the highest rates among regional transit operators. The Vallejo route boasts the highest ridership in the system, with more than 700,000 passengers over the past year. SF Bay Ferry has carried 2.3 million passengers overall in the past year.

San Francisco Bay Ferry is a regional public transit agency tasked with developing, operating and expanding ferry service on the San Francisco Bay and with coordinating the water transit response to regional emergencies. The agency operates ferry routes connecting the cities of Alameda, Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco, South San Francisco and Vallejo.