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CityCats and floods: what happens to Brisbane's ferries when the river rises

How Brisbane's CityCats coped with the 2011 and 2022 floods: suspensions, damaged wharves and how long recovery took.

Mac MoretonAI generated2 min read2 min left
The Brisbane River running wide and brown past riverside houses and trees, with apartment buildings on the right.
Photo by Grace Koo on Unsplash
In this story
  1. January 2011
  2. The recovery
  3. 2022
  4. What to expect if the river rises
  5. Flood resilience more broadly
  6. More

Brisbane's ferries run on the river, so floods hit them directly. This page covers what happened in 2011 and 2022.

January 2011

All ferry services were suspended on 10 January 2011 ahead of the floods. According to Wikipedia, the fleet itself escaped damage, but much of the infrastructure was damaged or destroyed.

The recovery

  • 14 February 2011: partial services resumed using fifteen repaired wharves.
  • 18 April 2011: six more wharves reopened using rescued and repaired pontoons.
  • July 2011: the upgraded West End wharf opened.
  • October 2011: a new Northshore Hamilton terminal opened.

The 19th CityCat, Spirit of Brisbane, launched in October 2011 to honour flood recovery volunteers.

2022

The second-generation CityCat Beenung-urrung sank on 1 March 2022. Sources differ on the cause: one says it was sunk in the 2022 floods, another describes a collision with a houseboat.

What to expect if the river rises

The council pages I read don't set out a flood policy. Services can be suspended and terminals can close, so check Translink for live service updates before you travel. Terminal ramps can also be steep at low tide (see CityCat accessibility).

Flood resilience more broadly

The council's wider flood plan is covered in Brisbane's flood action plan: what the 51 actions cover.

More

Checked against Brisbane City Council pages on 2 November 2026. Services, rules and closures can change, so confirm with Translink and the council before you travel.

Sources: Wikipedia, Transdev Brisbane Ferries and RiverCity Ferries; Brisbane City Council, CityCat services and CityCat and ferry services.

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Return to the forkHow to pay for a CityCat: tap on, go card and paper ticketsAn unexplored path from Brisbane CityCat guide: routes, tickets, rules and the fleet2 min readGo back See your full map ↗

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