Traversier d'Amsterdam

The Traversier d'Amsterdam (Amsterdam ferry) is a ferry service connecting the Kerguelen archipelago with the islands of Saint-Paul and Amsterdam.

Route
Vessels embark on their journey from Port-aux-Français, from where they round the Cap Suzanne and follow the east coast, calling at Port-du-Cap-Digby. Departing from Port-du-Cap-Digby, vessels round Cap Cotter and steam across the Golfe des Baleiniers, through the Passage de la Gazelle and call at Port-de-Passage-des-Deux-Îles. Departing here, vessels cross the Golfe Choiseul and call at Port-Christmas.

After calling at Port-Christmas, vessels embark upon a 1,300 km long journey across open ocean towards Île Saint-Paul, which takes a total of 37 hours. After calling at Île Saint-Paul, it is an additional 100 km (3 hours) before the vessels arrive at their destination, Île Amsterdam.

The full journey takes 50 hours including a two hour stop at Port-Christmas, an hour-long stop at Port-du-Cap-Digby, and half-hour stops at Port-de-Passage-des-Deux-Îles and Île Saint-Paul.

Frequency of service
The general frequency of service is one departure every three days in either direction. Departures happen relatively simultaneously on either terminus of the line, meaning that the two vessels will cross each other out on the open ocean between Île Saint-Paul and Port-Christmas.