The following is the text of a news release from Metal Shark:
(JEANERETTE, La.) — The first two passenger vessels built by Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark for Entertainment Cruises’ Potomac Riverboat Co. division have been delivered to Washington, D.C., and are now in service.
The two 88-foot, 149-passenger high-speed aluminum catamaran vessels Potomac Taxi I and Potomac Taxi II departed Metal Shark’s Franklin, La., shipyard in mid-September, traveled the Gulf of Mexico coastline and crossed Florida via Lake Okeechobee before proceeding northward up the Atlantic coast to Washington, D.C.
Powered by twin Scania DI13 081M engines delivering 500 hp at 1,800 rpm, the U.S. Coast Guard Subchapter T vessels were designed by BMT Designers and Planners and BMT Nigel Gee, and feature an environmentally friendly low wake/low wash hull design.
Both vessels commenced operations on Thursday, Oct. 12, with runs from Georgetown and Alexandria, Va., to The Wharf in Washington, D.C., for a grand opening ceremony hosting D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and members of the media.
The new vessels will provide commuters in the D.C. metro region with service between Old Town Alexandria, Va.; National Harbor, Md.; and Georgetown and The Wharf in Washington, D.C.. Potomac Riverboat Co. parent Entertainment Cruises is the nation’s largest dining and sightseeing cruise company, with a fleet of 30 ships operating in over a dozen major U.S. cities.
“We commenced construction on these vessels in March and completed them in six months,” said Carl Wegener, Metal Shark’s director of commercial sales.
