Penang Ferry Museum

Last updated: October 2026

The Penang Ferry Museum is the yellow double-ended ferry Pulau Pinang, retired from the Penang Strait crossing and now moored for good at Tanjong City Marina, a few steps from the George Town ferry terminal on Pengkalan Weld. Its operators bill it as the world's first museum dedicated to passenger ferries. Across four levels, from the engine room to the wheelhouses, it tells the story of a service that carried people, cars, bicycles and goods between Penang Island and the mainland for well over a century, and that many Penangites remember from childhood crossings.

This guide covers the history of the ferry service and of this particular vessel, what you will find on each deck, tickets and hours (checked October 2026), how to get there and practical tips.

History of the Penang Ferry Service

A regular ferry between George Town and the mainland began in 1894, when the businessman Quah Beng Kee and his brothers started a steam launch service between Kedah Pier in George Town and Mitchell Pier in Butterworth under the name Beng Brothers. In 1897 Quah bought out his brothers and renamed the business Guan Lee Hin Steamship Company, which later became the Eastern Shipping Company. The Straits Steamship Company took over in 1922, and from December 1924 the Penang Harbour Board ran the service directly.

The Harbour Board introduced the first vehicle-carrying ferry in 1925 with the steam ferry Seberang, followed by Tanjong and Kulim in 1929 and Bagan in 1938. When Japanese forces invaded in December 1941, Kulim was scuttled, Tanjong was sunk by gunfire and Bagan was seized. After the war the British Military Administration restarted the crossing with four converted landing craft.

The Penang Port Commission took over the Harbour Board's role in 1956. In 1957 it introduced a prototype ferry named Pulau Pinang with Voith Schneider cycloidal propellers, which let the boat move in either direction without turning round. Four more ferries followed in 1959, the same year the Raja Tun Uda terminal in George Town and the Sultan Abdul Halim terminal in Butterworth opened. The darkest day in the service's history came on 31 July 1988, when an overcrowded pedestrian bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim terminal collapsed, killing 32 people.

The opening of the Penang Bridge in 1985 took much of the vehicle traffic off the water, but the ferries stayed popular. The service passed to Penang Port Sdn Bhd in 1994 and to Prasarana Malaysia (as Rapid Ferry) in May 2018. Breakdowns in the ageing fleet led to most of the old vehicle ferries being retired at the end of 2020, and since August 2023 the crossing has been run with four new catamarans that carry only passengers, motorcycles and bicycles.

The Ferry Pulau Pinang: From Commuter Boat to Museum

The vessel that houses the Penang Ferry Museum is the second ferry to carry the name Pulau Pinang. She was built in 2002 by PSC-Naval Dockyard in Lumut, Perak, together with her sister ship Pulau Payar. She is 56 metres long and 11.6 metres wide, with two Wärtsilä diesel engines driving Voith Schneider propellers at each end, and a top speed of about 11.5 knots. She served the George Town to Butterworth route until November 2019, when engine problems and costly repairs took her out of service.

In June 2021 the laid-up ferry was found partly sunk near the Bagan Dalam slipway after water seeped into the engine room, and photographs of the half-submerged boat caused a public outcry. The Penang Port Commission then awarded the museum project to a private operator, Printhero Merchandise, on a ten-year lease. During restoration in late 2024 the ferry sprang a leak and listed heavily, and had to be beached and repaired, which pushed the reported cost up from about RM7 million to about RM10 million. She was then moved to her permanent berth at Tanjong City Marina and repainted in the familiar yellow, with artwork by Azmi Hussin.

The museum had a limited opening on 30 August 2025, opened to visitors on Malaysia Day, 16 September 2025, and had its official public opening on 12 January 2026.

What to See on Each Deck

Main deck

Where cars and motorcycles once parked, the main deck now holds the History Gallery, which traces the ferry service and the port from the 1890s and includes a diorama of the 1988 terminal bridge collapse. The Replica Gallery has scale models of Penang ferries from 1894 onwards, and the Ferry Collection shows salvaged fittings, blueprints and a Voith Schneider propeller, the unusual vertical-bladed propulsion unit that made the ferries so manoeuvrable. A small screening room plays colourised archive film of crossings, and two vintage Morris Minor cars sit on deck as a reminder of the days when you drove your car aboard.

Upper deck

The upper deck keeps part of the original passenger seating, so you can sit where commuters once sat. It also has a diorama gallery with miniature scenes of colonial Weld Quay, old Swettenham Pier and present-day Penang Sentral, an art gallery of ferry paintings by local artists (some for sale), an activity room where children can decorate paper ferries, and the museum shop.

Navigation deck

At the top, the two wheelhouses (one at each end, because the ferry never turned round) are open with their original wheels, dials and controls. The open deck gives wide views across the Penang Strait to Butterworth and back to the George Town waterfront, with information boards identifying the landmarks.

Engine room

Down in the hull you can see the diesel engines, the control room and the machinery for steering, fuel, exhaust and cooling, plus a virtual reality experience. The engine room is cramped, so visitors are given a safety helmet and vest. Access is included in the VIP ticket and was reported at RM9 as an add-on for adults.

Penang Ferry Museum Tickets, Opening Hours and How Long to Spend

• General admission, non-MyKad: RM39 adults, RM19 children aged 4 to 15.
• General admission, MyKad holders: RM29 adults, RM15 children; concession rates also apply to students, seniors and visitors with disabilities.
• VIP: RM59 adults, RM39 children, with priority entry and engine-room access.
• Hours: listed as daily 9 am to 10 pm when the museum opened; the official website currently shows 9 am to 6 pm, so check before planning an evening visit.
• Booking: visits run in timed sessions capped at 150 people. Online tickets on penangferrymuseum.com must be bought at least a day in advance and are tied to a time slot.
• Time needed: about an hour; add 20 to 30 minutes for the engine room.

How to Get to the Penang Ferry Museum

• On foot: the ship is moored beside the Raja Tun Uda ferry terminal on Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay). Chew Jetty and the other clan jetties are a short walk south along the waterfront.
• Bus: Rapid Penang buses, including the free CAT shuttle around the heritage zone, stop at the Weld Quay jetty bus terminal next to the ferry terminal.
• From Butterworth: take the passenger ferry from Penang Sentral; you arrive at the terminal right next to the museum.
• Grab or taxi: search for "Penang Ferry Museum" or "Tanjung City Marina".
• Car: parking is available around the ferry terminal and Tanjong City Marina, but spaces fill up at weekends.

Tips for Visiting

• The ship has narrow gangways, steep stairs and no lifts, so it is not suitable for wheelchairs or prams. The engine room is the tightest space on board.
• The ferry is moored in open water and sways a little; if you get seasick easily, take precautions.
• Weekends and school holidays are busiest. Book a morning slot on a weekday for a quieter visit.
• The upper and navigation decks are partly open to the weather, so bring a hat and water in the middle of the day.
• Combine the visit with the Clan Jetties, the Hean Boo Thean floating temple and a return ride on the modern ferry to Butterworth for a full waterfront half day.

Penang Ferry Museum Location

Nearby

• Gēn — Restaurant, 0.2 km away
• Sora Penang — Night view, 0.2 km away
• Kwason Boulangerie — Dessert, 0.2 km away
• The Prestige Hotel Penang — Hotel, 0.2 km away
• Ali Nasi Lemak Daun Pisang — Hawker food, 0.3 km away
• Penang Ferry Night Crossing — Night view, 0.3 km away

Plan a route with opening times using the Where2Go trip planner.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Penang Ferry Museum, official website
• MV Pulau Pinang, Wikipedia
• Penang ferry service, Wikipedia
• Penang Ferry Museum: a floating maritime museum, TheSmartLocal Malaysia
• Penang floating ferry museum opens Sept 16, The Sun

See all attractions in Penang