A contract for a new 400-passenger ferry to serve New York City’s Governors Island was awarded to Blount Boats, Warren, R.I., and Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Group LLC (EBDG).
The 132’x40’x13’ vessel will be designed and built for the non-profit Trust for Governors Island, which administers the former Coast Guard installation between Manhattan and Brooklyn in the heart of New York Harbor. The 172-acre island is a recreation and cultural center for city residents, and the trust in February issued a request for proposals to build a new ferry.
The vessel will provide passenger ferry service between the Battery Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan and Soissons Landing on Governors Island. The initial vessel design will be built to meet the Coast Guard Subchapter K regulations.
The Blount/EBDG partnership combines the companies’ long experience in designing and building ferries. The roster of Blount-built passenger vessels working New York Harbor includes Statue Cruises’ Miss Liberty built in 1954, the Michael Cosgrove built in 1962 for the city of New York and still in service, and the Sensation built in 1989 and purchased and retrofitted in 2015 by Hornblower Cruises and Events.
“Blount Boats is honored to have been chosen by the Trust to build another iconic vessel for New York Harbor,” Marcia Blount, president of Blount Boats, said in announcing the contract. Robert J. Pelletier, vice president of Blount Boats, will be project manager for the construction at the yard.
"EBDG looks forward to working with Blount and designing a quality vessel for the Trust," Matt Williamson, project manager for the design said about the award. EBDG's scope of work includes contract and detail design along with vessel delivery support.
