Keelung-Ishigaki ferry could open ticket sales within a month

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Tickets for a ferry service between Keelung City and Ishigaki Island will go on sale "within a month at the soonest," Wagon Group's General Manager Hung Yu-hang (洪郁航) said Tuesday, ahead of the route's planned launch in September.

Hung said one-way ticket prices between the northern Taiwanese city and the Japanese island located about 260 kilometers east of Taiwan will vary by cabin class and suggested that "something close to NT$3,000 (US$100) sounds about right."

The ferry, the Yaima Maru, can accommodate 545 passengers, Hung said, adding that voyages are tentatively scheduled to run overnight, allowing passengers to sleep onboard and arrive the following morning.

Tickets will be available through partner travel agencies and an online booking system once pricing is finalized, he said.

Hung added that individual ferry tickets and package options -- including hotel stays or full itineraries -- will be purchasable.