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John Waterhouse, Chief Engineering Officer of EBDG, on Construction & Renovation: When John Waterhouse, P.E., Chief Engineering Officer and founder of Elliott Bay Design Group in Seattle, Wash., (with offices in New Orleans) prognosti- cated about the future of the passenger vessel industry, he was optimistic that the coming years will be good ones. Waterhouse said, “It looks very good out there. I’m opti- mistic about so many of the niches that comprise the pas- senger vessel industry.” Waterhouse foresees positive outlooks in many market segments. “The ferries that were built in the 1960s are just now beginning to need to be updated, renovated or replaced,” said Waterhouse. “So there’s good news for those of us in that side of the business.” “Although the dinner boat operators have taken a bit of a hit due to the economy, I think that we’ll soon see that segment regain its strong customer base,” he said. “The same goes for the excursion and eco-tour vessel operators. They still offer a tremendous service and peo- ple love being on the water. I’m confident that the passenger vessel industry will do well in the coming years.” Frederick Hall, Vice President of Bridgeport/Port Jefferson Steamboat, on Ridership: “I like what we were seeing at the end of the last quarter of 2010,” reported Fred Hall, Vice President of Bridgeport/Port Jefferson Steamboat in Jefferson, N.Y. “We experienced an incremental increase in business and I’m optimistic that will continue in 2011.” Hall said that the operation that runs a ferry between Bridgeport, Conn. and Port Jefferson, on Long Island, N.Y., has modified its schedules to stay in tune with rid- ership, which he now describes as “steady” and “positive.” “The price of fuel, however, is the key component to success or failure. If the price of fuel is manageable, we’ll be fine this year,” Hall said. MN 42 MN January 2011 Market Report Waterhouse “The ferries that were built in the 1960s are just now beginning to need to be updated, renovated or replaced. So there’s good news for those of us in that side of the business.”
