The head of Transport for NSW has assured ferry commuters new vessels will be operational “very soon” amid high-swell cancellations of the current Emerald Class fleet.

Services between Manly and Circular Quay had to be suspended on Monday night due to swells above 2.5 metres.

Chief Operations Officer Howard Collins explained to Jim Wilson while the original Emerald Class fleet are only built for swells of up to 2.5 metres, a newer version with a reinforced hull will be able to handle swells of up to 4.5 metres.

When asked why the Freshwater ferries were decommissioned prior to the operation of the mark-two Emeralds, Mr Collins admitted it’s a “pretty good question”.

“There has been a little delays in the arrival of those mark-twos; we were expecting them from the operator to be in service in line with the expiry of our rego on the Queenscliff.

“Unfortunately they’ve been under a bit more test[ing].”

Press PLAY below to hear the full interview 

Image: Getty