Gladding Hearn Shipbuilding of Somerset, Mass., won the contract to build three new 165-ft., 600-passenger ferries for New York City-based Circle Line.
According to Peter Duclos, President of Gladding-Hearn, the boats are based on a design from Dejong & Lebet. The vessels are already under construction at Gladding-Hearn, as the contract was signed in November 2006 according to Duclos, but just announced now. Two boats will be in service by the Spring of 2008, with the third to follow six months later.
The K-Class ferries will be powered by a pair of Cummins KTA-38 diesel engines.