Hornblower Cruises, a San-Francisco based charter yacht and ferry service that runs the NYC Ferry has filed for bankrupty. So while the NYC Ferry itself has not gone broke, the operating company has. According to Curbed, Hornblower filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after being unable to pay off its $1.2 billion of debt.
The nearly century-old corporation services other marine transportation including Alcatraz cruises in California. Hornblower Cruises was actually responsible for the design and construction of the first hybrid ferry in the United States. Supposedly, the filing will not interrupt service on the NYC Ferry, nor Alcatraz cruises for that matter.
It’s apparently American Queen Voyages, Hornblower’s third division that never truly recovered after the pandemic. According to Curbed, American Queen Voyages saw a drastic drop in revenue in 2020, falling from $690 million the year before to $175 million.
Global investment firm, Strategic Value Partners, is coming to Hornblower’s aid by acquiring partial ownership of the company for an overarching restructuring plan. Again, CEO Kevin Rabbitt has reassured that no detrimental impact will come to the NYC Ferry service as a result.
“This will not affect NYC Ferry service whatsoever – in fact, this deal injects new capital into the parent company, while eliminating debt unrelated to ferry operations, which will allow the system to continue its record growth across the five boroughs,” he said.