Is the ferry between Changi, Singapore and Tanjung Belungkor, Malaysia currently running?
I'm planning to start my upcoming world trip in Singapore and for something different instead of just taking a bus over the border to the west of Malaysia I found that there is a ferry on the east side.
But I'm not sure whether it's currently running. The ferry company's name is Tanjung Belungkor. I don't know if they have their own website. I can only find what look like 3rd party websites for booking many ferries and I can't book it through those but no reason is given, nor can I find a news section with any updates.
For instance, this site, directferries.co.uk sells tickets on the ferry but doesn't look like it belongs to the ferry company. It displays the vague text
Changi - Tanjung Belungkor: No further sailings
Tanjung Belungkor - Changi: No further sailings
Best Answer
No.
I managed to find a news article. The ferry stopped running due to COVID in March 2020 and on December 31 2021 the Changi Ferry Terminal was shut down permanently.
Singapore: Changi Ferry Terminal ops ceases effective 31 December 2021
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Johor Port Authority (JPA) on Friday (31 December) announced the closure of Changi Ferry Terminal (CFT) at 30 Changi Ferry Road from 31 December 2021.
Since March 2020, the ferry service between CFT and the Tanjung Belungkor Ferry Terminal (TBFT) in Johor has been suspended in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
JPA operated CFT under an agreement with MPA under which JPA was responsible for the operations and associated running costs of the terminal.
This agreement ended in February 2021 and both parties have agreed not to continue with the operation of CFT in view of economic considerations.
With the closure of CFT, the ferry service between CFT and TBFT will also cease permanently.
MPA and JPA are open to exploring other sea connectivity options between Malaysia and Singapore under a Vaccinated Travel Lane (Sea) arrangement.
I walked around this area on Tuesday and the ferry terminal is completely fenced off and many workers are active in the area.
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Ferry From Desaru / Tanjung Belungkor to Singapore
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Answer 2
The mysterious second ferry service you heard about is the "bumboat" service between Changi Point Ferry Terminal (in Changi Village, not to be confused with the now closed Changi Ferry Terminal) and Tanjung Pengelih in Pengerang, Malaysia, only about 5 km away from Tg Belungkor as the bird flies (although much further away by road). These are small boats that operate without fixed schedule whenever enough passengers show up.
Unfortunately, immigration facilities on both sides remain closed and a quick call to the terminal at +6565451616 confirmed that bumboats to Malaysia are not running, and they had "no idea" when they will start running again. That said, Malaysia and Singapore have pretty much normalized travel by now, so reopening is probably a matter of time.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Ngrh Mei, Phyo Hein Kyaw, Pixabay, Robert Stokoe