The Chesapeake Bay passenger ferry will initially connect 5 counties, with plans for expansion

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OCEAN CITY — Plans for a passenger ferry for the Chesapeake Bay appear to be moving forward, and a county commissioner said he expects test runs in about a year.

Tourism directors and representatives from counties along the bay presented possible routes, costs, benefits and hurdles to implementing the project to a packed audience Thursday in a medium-sized conference room at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center in Ocean City. The panel discussion was part of this year’s Maryland Association of Counties summer conference.

How the project will be financed is still unclear, but officials said the solution will most likely be based on a partnership between the state government and local authorities and one or more private companies.

A recent study estimated the operation could initially generate an annual loss of about $2.5 million, but tourism directors and government officials speaking at a panel discussion Thursday said there are several ways to reduce the potential deficit.

They also see significant potential for the project, which could generate $2.6 million in annual tax revenue and boost the local economy, the study says.

The ferry system will initially connect five counties – Anne Arundel, Calvert, St. Mary’s, Queen Anne’s and Somerset – but officials expect the route to eventually stretch the entire length of the Chesapeake Bay, from northeastern Cecil County to Crisfield in Somerset County.

Jack Wilson, a Republican and Queen Anne’s County commissioner, said the ferry system will experience an “avalanche-like” boom once it opens. It will boost tourism and economic development at all of its destinations and generate revenue that will lead to more connections and greater reach.

It’s not entirely clear if and when the ferry will actually reach all of the dozen or so counties along the bay, but the coalition of tourism associations and county elected officials said preliminary ferry service between the first five counties could begin soon.

Wilson expects testing to begin in about a year.

(This story will be updated.)