THE Port of London Authority (PLA) is set to lead a fresh investigation into whether the Tilbury–Gravesend ferry service can be restored.

Thurrock councillors have previously been warned that any reinstated crossing will need to operate without public subsidy.

Members of the authority's place overview and scrutiny committee were told that the Government has made clear the ferry must be commercially viable, meaning passenger numbers and fares would have to increase significantly.

Early feasibility work indicated that annual patronage would need to rise from 120,000 to around 160,000 journeys, while fares would have to increase by around 90 per cent for the service to break even.

Paul Crick, Thurrock Council's chief operations lead-place said almost two years had passed since the ferry last ran, but a substantial amount of work had been carried out behind the scenes.

A working group—initially chaired by the Thames Estuary Growth Board—commissioned a feasibility study, first presented in January 2025 and updated in May. This identified a series of variables affecting viability, including fare levels, service frequency, operating hours and week long schedules.

Mr Crick said extensive modelling is now required to understand the "optimum" commercial starting point for any reinstated service, noting it was essential not to revive the ferry on a short term subsidy only for it to be withdrawn again.

With the growth board now disbanded, the PLA has taken responsibility for commissioning the next phase of commercial modelling and is currently assessing tender bids.

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Efforts to secure alternative funding streams have so far drawn a blank. Mr Crick said the Department for Transport had ruled out repurposing active travel funds, bus service improvement money or Thames crossing toll revenue.

However, he noted potentially the authority's consolidated transport grant could allow support for ferry schemes in future years, once commercial modelling is complete.

Labour councillor Cici Manwa said it was "shocking" that fares might need to rise by almost 90 per cent, warning that the process "feels as though we're going around in circles".

She added: "There needs to be some sort of injection of funding for it to get up and running … there's a lot of different sorts of factors at play."

Independent councillor Roy Jones argued a fully commercial, high frequency service was unrealistic.

"I'd be quite happy with someone supplying a boat for a 30 minute service for ten or 12 hours a day — because that's all we ever had before," he said.

Mr Crick will return to the committee later this year with further updates once the PLA's commercial modelling work is underway.

The ferry will be discussed at a meeting of Tilbury Community Forum on Tuesday evening when Thurrock MP Jen Craft will be present to discuss uses for £20 million of government funding for local causes in the town.

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