They have been immortalised by Australian Crawl's song, Reckless.

But more than three decades after they began cutting their way to Circular Quay from Manly, the four Freshwater-class ferries in the state's fleet of vessels face the prospect of being retired from Sydney's most popular run on Sydney Harbour.

The double-ended Freshwaters, launched in 1982, are set to be replaced by Transdev. Credit:James Alcock

It comes two months after French company Transdev signed a new $1.3 billion contract to run Sydney's ferries for the next nine years.

The private operator will put three new Emerald-class ferries on the Manly route as early as next year, leaving retirement on the horizon for the Freshwater ferries during the term of the new contract.