New York Department News

When Hurricane Michael slammed the Florida Panhandle in October 2018, the deadly category 5 storm inflicted billions in damages to the region, tearing apart homes and businesses in its path. Among those severely impacted was Eastern Shipbuilding Group, which suffered a nearly direct hit at its Allanton shipyard, located about 15 miles east of the company’s headquarters and main yard in Panama City.Eastern, which had been scheduled to begin building the first of up to 11 Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) for the U.S.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) announced the completion of the third and final Ollis Class Staten Island Ferry for the City of New York Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) Staten Island Ferry Division. Yesterday, the Dorothy Day, Hull 221, departed ESG’s Port St. Joe Shipyard passenger ready with the U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection and the ABS Class Certificates in hand.“It has been an honor for our company to build the three Ollis Class Staten Island Ferries…

A New York state regulator on Friday fined cruise line operator Carnival Corp $5 million for "significant" cybersecurity violations, following four security breaches from 2019 to 2021 that exposed substantial amounts of sensitive customer data.New York's Department of Financial Services said Carnival violated a state cybersecurity regulation by failing to use multi-factor authentication that would make it harder for wrongdoers to access its internal network.It also said Carnival…

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) announced the completion of the second Ollis Class Staten Island Ferry for the City of New York Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) Staten Island Ferry Division. The Sandy Ground, Hull 220, departed ESG’s Port St. Joe Shipyard passenger ready with the USCG Certificate of Inspection and the ABS Class Certificates in hand.“I am pleased to announce the newest Staten Island Ferry Sandy Ground is being delivered to New York City. This vessel honors our nation’s African-American heritage and will tell the story of the landmark Sandy Ground community…

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) announced it has completed the first of three new Staten Island “Ollis Class” ferries for the City of New York Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) Staten Island Ferry Division. The MV SSG Michael H. Ollis, Hull 219, departed ESG’s Port St. Joe, Fla. facility fully certified and passenger ready.Dann Ocean Towing’s Colonel is towing the ferry on a 12-dray trip to New York City. Upon arrival, the ferry will be staged at Caddell Dry Dock for cleaning and another round of trials and training.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. launched Dorothy Day, the third of three new Staten Island Ollis Class ferries, on Friday, March 26, at its Allanton shipyard in Panama City, Fla.The three 320-foot Ollis Class double-ended 4,500 passenger ferries are being built for the City of New York Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) Staten Island Ferry Division. Designed by Elliott Bay Design Group, each ferry features four ABS Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) 12-710 at 900 rpm EPA Tier 4  marine…

All passengers have safely debarked a passenger vessel that ran aground and began taking on water in the Saint Lawrence River near Alexandria Bay, N.Y., Thursday afternoon.The U.S. Coast Guard said it received a report at 1:17 p.m. that the tour boat Island Duchess, operated by Uncle Sam Boat Tours, had run aground with 134 passengers on board for a day cruise. All passengers were transferred via responding assets from multiple assisting agencies to another USBT-operated vessel…

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) launched the second of three new Staten Island “Ollis Class” Ferries for the City of New York Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) Staten Island Ferry Division. The Sandy Ground was launched Friday at Eastern’s Allanton facility in Panama City, Fla.The three Ollis Class double-ended 4500 passenger ferries, are from a design provided by Elliott Bay Design Group, with each ferry featuring four ABS Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) 12-710 at 900…

It takes a thick skin to live in New York City, let alone to run its Staten Island Ferry service. James C. DeSimone, Deputy Commissioner, Ferry Division, New York City Department of Transportation, has been charged with running the ferry service for the last 16 years. We met with him for his insights on the challenges of keeping the iconic ferry running safely and efficiently.Jim DeSimone has led a maritime life, with his time equally split between the private and public sectors. His maritime affiliation is literally in his blood, as his father Guy J.

On Friday, November 15, 2019, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) launched the SSG MICHAEL H. OLLIS (Hull 219) the first of three new Staten Island “Ollis Class” Ferries for the City of New York Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) Staten Island Ferry Division. The launch took place at Eastern’s Allanton facility in Panama City, Fla. with special attendance by Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis.The new Staten Island Ollis Class Ferries series are named after fallen soldier of the US Army 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, 'Climb to Glory', Army Staff Sgt. Michael H.

July brought news about offshore wind. There was something for everyone: optimism, disappointment, and construction, too.Finally, starting with Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, a joint venture with Danish wind developer Orsted is underway. True, this is a small project – just two wind turbines to be installed 27 miles east of Virginia Beach. But considering all the preceding hurdles, news about Dominion blew in as proverbial, hopeful fresh air. Surely…

The U.S. Coast Guard has contracted Resolve Marine Group to conduct a full assessment of oil remaining on the Coimbra wreck, located approximately 30 miles southeast of Shinnecock, N.Y. If substantial oil still remains, and if feasible, the Coast Guard will work with Resolve Marine Group to remove oil from the wreck in order to reduce pollution risks to the environment.The operation is scheduled to take place from April 28th to May 30th. The initial evaluation will assess the condition of the tanker and what potential environmental impact still exists. Based on the assessment, possible oil removal operations will take place.During the operation…

The Coast Guard and partner agencies are responding to reports of several barges and vessels breaking away from their moorings on the Hudson River near Troy, New York, Friday morning.Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New York received the initial report of the situation from Rensselaer emergency dispatch.New York State Marine notified the Coast Guard that an additional six vessels were noticed adrift in the ice flows shortly before sunrise.One of the vessels is a 300-foot cruise boat, currently stuck at the Livingston Avenue railroad bridge. Two adrift barges have been secured.Coast Guard Cutter Penobscot Bay, a 140-foot ice breaker…

The City of New York Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) Staten Island Ferry Division and Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) cut steel to officially begin the construction of the first of three new 320’ Staten Island Ollis Class Ferries. The steel cutting ceremony held August 29, 2017 took place in Eastern’s steel processing and pre-fabrication building at its Allanton facility in Panama City, Fla. Attending the ceremony from Staten Island Ferry Division was John Collins, Director of Ferry Engineering and Bill Tomalonis, Vessel Construction Manager SIF Division.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) has received Notice to Proceed (NPT) from The City of New York Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) for the detail design and construction of three new Staten Island-Ollis Class Ferries for the Staten Island Ferry Division. Eastern is extremely honored to be the winning shipyard that will construct and deliver three new Staten Island Ollis Class Ferries to NYCDOT and the Staten Island Ferry Division. The three Ollis Class double-ended 4500 passenger ferries, are from a design provided by Elliot Bay Design Group, with each ferry featuring four Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) 12-710 Tier 4 compliant propulsion…

Hudson Transmission Partners, LLC (HTP), owner and operator of an electric power cable buried beneath the Hudson River between Edgewater, New Jersey and New York City, is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC), and other agencies to contain the release of small amounts of non-toxic cable fluid into the Hudson River. The fluid release was detected on Saturday and is the apparent result of damage to a portion of the cable in the Hudson River near the New Jersey shoreline in Edgewater. Spill responders were dispatched to the area on Saturday and have contained the cable fluid with booms and absorbent materials.

Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG), a naval architecture and marine engineering firm with offices in Seattle, New Orleans and Ketchikan, Ala., has been selected by the New York Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) to design a new class of ferries that will operate between the boroughs of Staten Island and Manhattan. The project scope consists of a complete design package, including contract drawings, specifications and other documents for vessels to replace the existing Barberi and Kennedy Class ferries. Also included in the scope are modifications to the existing Molinari Class ferries to retrofit a new propulsion system, something the city says is necessary to establish consistency between the new ferries and those that will remain in the fleet. Senator Charles E.

Incident responders from the Coast Guard and representatives from the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation completed the salvage of the freighter that lost power and ran aground in the St. Lawrence Seaway, Tuesday, and have reopened the seaway to all vessel traffic as of 7:30 p.m., Thursday. The motor vessel Federal Kivalina was removed from its resting spot near the Thousand Island Bridge by a contracted salvage crew and two tugs from Montreal. Coast Guard personnel approved the salvage plan early Thursday afternoon and the salvage team immediately went to work to remove the vessel. Upon the safe removal of the Federal Kivalina, the SLSDC reopened the seaway to all vessel traffic, which had been shut down for more than two days.

The US Coast Guard Ninth District has responded to the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship 'Federal Kivalina' which lost its steering while transiting the Seaway in the vicinity of Wellesley Island, New York. The Federal Kivalina, a 656-foot, Hong Kong-flagged freighter carrying 23,000 metric tons of canola seeds, reportedly dropped three anchors to bring the vessel to rest. The Coast Guard notified the New York State Bridge Authority of the situation, which shut down the Thousand Island Bridge for about 10 minutes as a precaution. Response crews from Station Alexandria Bay, New York State Parks Police, New York State Police, New York Department of Environmental Conservation, and inspectors from MSD Massena and the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation are either on scene or en route.

Incident responders from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and representatives from the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation continue to oversee the salvage and investigation of the disabled freighter that ran aground after losing steering Tuesday while transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway in the vicinity of Wellesley Island, New York. The motor vessel Federal Kivalina is currently anchored upriver, about one-third of a mile from the Thousand Island Bridge. There are no reported injuries to the crew and no reported pollution at this time.

On September 17, McAllister Towing and Reinauer Transportation will be partnering with the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound and Sector New York in a major simulated marine accident and pollution incident on the waters of Long Island Sound. Responders will be faced with a simulated grounding and subsequent oil spill impacting the waters and shoreline of Connecticut and New York. The exercise is part of the National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP), a voluntary program bringing together industry and government to meet the exercise and preparedness requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, legislation enacted following the Exxon Valdez.

Hyde Marine’s chemical-free, IMO Type Approved ballast water treatment solution packs performance in a smaller footprint. That’s good news for small vessel operators who may soon find themselves impacted by a problem that previously was thought to be a “bluewater” issue. The notion that ballast water treatment and invasive species are both strictly the domain of big, bluewater liners coming from the Far East and other exotic locales quickly went out the porthole last November when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its long-awaited, updated draft Vessel General Permit (VGP) rule. The new rules potentially bring regulations to bear on vessels as small as 79 feet LOA and others, depending on service and routing.

Hurricane 'Sandy' pollution response US Coast Guard unified command completes tank vessel lift on Staten Island, NY. The tank vessel John B. Caddell is a 184-foot tanker ship that washed up on Staten Island as a result of high winds and floodwaters from Hurricane Sandy. The Caddell posed both an environmental and navigational threat to the New York waterways. The Hurricane Sandy Pollution Response Unified Command lifted and transported the vessel from Front Street in Staten Island, thus removing that pollution threat to the environment.