The following is text of a news release from NYC Ferry:
(NEW YORK) — The first of six new 350-passenger vessels being built for the NYC Ferry fleet, Ocean Queen Rockstar, has arrived in New York.
The ferry completed sea trials and journeyed 2,200 nautical miles from Metal Shark’s Gulf Coast shipyard to New York Harbor last week. The vessel will undergo final installations, modifications and testing before joining the 16-vessel fleet currently operating across four routes at the end of July.
Designed by Incat Crowther, the new vessels are outfitted with larger engines and substantially more seating on the top and bottom decks to accommodate more passengers.
“Ocean Queen Rockstar will help us meet growing demand for this service and get even more New Yorkers to their destinations throughout the city,” said James Patchett, president and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corp. (NYCEDC).
Earlier this year, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to invest $300 million over the next five years to secure additional higher-capacity vessels, improve existing piers and docks, and build a second home port where the growing fleet will be housed and maintained. The investment follows updated projections that NYC Ferry’s ridership could grow to as many as 9 million annual passengers by 2023, twice as many passengers as initially projected. NYC Ferry experienced record-breaking ridership last week and ultimately serving 5 million riders total as of today.
Since its launch in May 2017, NYC Ferry has employed more than 325 people to fill positions such as captains, deck hands, customer service agents, ticketing, operations and more.
