High-Speed Ferry to Catalina Proposed

The alternatives for taking a ferry to Santa Catalina Island--currently a choice between one- and two-hour trips--could soon become more complicated.

A new company has announced plans to acquire Catalina Cruises, the slower and less expensive of two ferry services from the Long Beach-San Pedro area to the island. If approved by a state regulatory commission, Catalina Clipper's offer would introduce a second high-speed service.

Jim Thomson, chief operating officer of Catalina Clipper, said that the slower service would continue.

Catalina Express, the island's only other ferry service, recently abandoned a bid to acquire Catalina Cruises. The deal had been stalled by the Public Utilities Commission, which cited labor problems and fears that such an agreement would give Express a monopoly on the island's ferry service.