Goldman Sachs Ferries Begin Service, Finally

On Hudson, Bank’s Ferries Are Finally in Service

It is a mystery that has drifted around New York Harbor for two years: Why did one of the world’s biggest investment banks buy two custom-made ferry boats and leave them bobbing, unused, on the Hudson River

One of the Goldman Sachs ferries.

On Tuesday, the idleness ended when the boats â€" named York and Jersey â€" suddenly slipped into service as commuter ferries, carrying passengers, bank employees or not, between Lower Manhattan and Jersey City. The same passengers who paid $6 each way to ride a New York Waterway workhorse last week have traded up to smoother, quieter boats with plush seating, courtesy of the bank, Goldman Sachs.

But the question of why it took Goldman so long to put its $5 million investment to use remained unanswered.

A spokeswoman for the bank, Tiffany Galvin, said that the boats began scheduled service across the Hudson on Tuesday morning. But Ms. Galvin repeatedly declined to explain the long delay, saying only that the necessary “requirements and checks” had taken longer than expected.

Ms. Galvin said it would not be appropriate to divulge why the boats’ use was blocked or if it had been blocked by a regulatory agency. The Coast Guard said that it had inspected and approved the boats for commuter use two years ago.

The unusually long clearance was a result of the oddity of Goldman’s plan. It wanted to improve the experience of crossing the water that separates its headquarters in Battery Park City and its office tower on the riverfront in Jersey City. So it ordered a pair of boats, built in Washington State, with sofa-style seating, swivel chairs and bicycle racks.

The 72-foot-long catamarans may have been built to Wall Street standards, but because they land at a public pier near the World Financial Center, Goldman could not exclude the public â€" just as if Citigroup had bought a fancy bus and asked the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to run it from the bank’s headquarters on Park Avenue to its trading base in TriBeCa.

In this case, the operator will be the BillyBey Ferry Company, which owns a fleet of boats that it hires New York Waterway to run as commuter ferries. Paul Goodman, the president of BillyBey, said there would be no change in the existing New York Waterway schedule or fares for the route. He acknowledged that he would have liked to have put the boats into service sooner but said he was sworn to keeping Goldman’s secret about the delay.

Mr. Goodman said the boats would not fly New York Waterway flags, as the boats they replaced did; nor would they bear the ferry service’s name or logos. He gave no explanation and was reluctant even to describe the interiors of the cabins for fear of endangering his charter contract by upsetting Goldman executives.

For its part, all Goldman would say through Ms. Galvin on Tuesday was: “We’re pleased to have these environmentally friendly, efficient boats in service. We think they benefit Goldman Sachs employees and the downtown community.”

A version of this article appeared in print on February 20, 2013, on page A20 of the New York edition with the headline: On Hudson, Bank’s Ferries Are Finally In Service.