The St. Johns River Ferry. | JTA
Published on February 28, 2024 at 3:32 pm
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The national company that provides the crew and staff for the St. Johns River Ferry has declared bankruptcy. But the JTA, which owns the ferry service, says passengers shouldn’t worry.
There will be no effect on people who use the ferry or in its operating schedule, said JTA spokesman Anthony Junco.
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JTA took control of the ferry in 2017, but the Hornblower Group runs the ferry through a subsidiary, HMS Ferries. Hornblower announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Hornblower CEO Kevin Rabbit said the company expects to emerge from Chapter 11 in about four months after Strategic Value Partners, a global investment firm, acquires majority ownership.
“We have strong relationships with our government agency and business partners, and our core businesses are performing well with robust and growing demand,” Rabbitt said in a news release. “The steps we are taking today will enable us to … strengthen our financial foundation as we continue serving our guests and commuters around the world. “
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Hornblower is a 98-year-old company based in San Francisco that operates ferries, maritime cargo systems and other businesses in 111 countries and 125 U.S. cities, its website states. In 1993, it spun off Hornblower Marine Services to focus on the operation of casino boats and ferries.
One of its subsidiaries is HMS Ferries, which operates a number of ferry vessels, including the St. Johns River Ferry between State Road A1A in Mayport Village and Fort George Island.
The St. Johns River Ferry just returned to service this week after a three-week outage for maintenance.
For St. Johns River Ferry hours of operation, go to ferry.jtafla.com.
