Ferry

Ferry is a boat or ship that is used to take people, vehicles or goods across large bodies of water, such as seas, lakes and rivers.

In many places around the world, ferries are very important for public transport. Some of these places can only be reached by ferry, because they have no roads or railways with bridge or tunnels that join them to nearby places, nor do they have any locations at which to land airplanes, whether it is an airport or only an airfield.

Sometimes the trip in a ferry is free and sometimes it must be paid for. Many ferries also carry cars, some even have own rail tracks, allowing the ferry to carry trains on board.

The word 'ferry' can also mean 'to take someone or something by ferry'.

The Herald of Free Enterprise disaster, in which 193 people died near Zeebrugge in 1987, was one of the worst ferry accidents of recent times. It was caused by a crew member forgetting to close the bow doors of the ferry.