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Potomac Riverboat Company News

30 Jan 2020

An Ever-vigilant Focus on Passenger Vessel Safety

© Eugene Kalenkovich / Adobe Stock

When I came into office as the Passenger Vessel Association’s President for 2019 last January, I announced two strategic goals for our industry: to enhance safety and foster the professional growth of our next generation of leaders. I am proud to announce we have undertaken major initiatives and made progress on each. These goals match my lifelong professional commitment to safety as well as aligning with PVA’s true north: a responsibility to be ever vigilant and proactive in addressing safety.I have been a longtime member of PVA and served in its leadership for years.

06 Feb 2018

PVA Elects 2018 Leadership

Gus Gaspardo (Photo: PVA)

Gus Gaspardo, President of the Padelford Packet Boat Company, was elected Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) President for 2018 at the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2018, held January 28-31 in Savannah, Ga. Gaspardo is President of Padelford Packet Boat Co. Inc., St. Paul, Minn. Founded in 1969 by Capt. William Bowell Sr., Padelford provides a wide variety of public cruises and private events on the Mississippi River with three passenger subchapter K vessels at Harriet Island Regional Park in downtown St. Paul.

05 Feb 2018

Scania: Propelling the Passenger Vessel Market

Scania advances into 2018 on the strength of prior year successes and new visibility in one of the North American marine industry’s hottest sectors. In the fourth quarter of 2017, the first two passenger vessels built by Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark for Entertainment Cruises’ Potomac Riverboat Company division were delivered to Washington, D.C. Both are now in service. The two 88’, 149-passenger high speed aluminum catamaran vessels – the Potomac Taxi I and Potomac Taxi II – departed Metal Shark’s Franklin, La. shipyard and eventually proceeded northward up the Atlantic Coast to Washington. How they got there is less important than what powered the delivery.

24 Jan 2018

A 'Ferry' Good Year

The new NYC Ferry service kicked off in 2017 (Photo: Dale Barnett)

New routes, new challenges and plenty of newbuilding as 2017 gives way to the New Year. A year ago, the maritime industry could be found clinging to the edge of their seats to see what the coming year had in store. 2017 was set to be a telling year and indeed it was. With the elections finalized, the political impact, if any, was sure to be seen. While fuel prices have remained low and continuing to hamper the offshore workboat market, consumer confidence has held high and new vessel construction is strong – particularly in the ferry segment.

20 Dec 2017

Marine News' Top 10 Stories of 2017

Plucked from the headlines, the top stories of 2017 were compelling, and each provided impact to the domestic waterfront and in particular – the workboat sector. Follow along as Marine News recaps the highlights, drama and significant events that shaped the past 12 months. When Elaine Chao was sworn in to be the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, the Washington veteran brought a welcome burst of competence to the position. Her wide-ranging experience across the maritime sector and prior service at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, and the Federal Maritime Commission uniquely positions her to understand the critical role that the waterfront plays in the intermodal equation. Soon after taking her chair, she was joined by another familiar face at Marad. Rear Adm.

15 Oct 2017

Metal Shark Delivers Potomac Riverboat Passenger Vessels

The first two passenger vessels built by Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark for Entertainment Cruises’ Potomac Riverboat Company division have been delivered to Washington, D.C. and are now in service. The  two 88’, 149-passenger high speed aluminum catamaran vessels “Potomac Taxi I” and “Potomac Taxi II” departed Metal Shark’s Franklin, Louisiana 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 1800 RPM, the USCG 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.

23 Jun 2017

Metal Shark Wins $54 Mln US Navy Contract

Image: Metal Shark

Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark said it has been awarded a contract worth up to $54 million from the U.S. Navy to build Near Coastal Patrol Vessels (NCPVs) for U.S. partner nations through the Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Metal Shark’s proposal was selected by Naval Sea Systems Command from a field of six competing shipyards. Under the terms of the award, Metal Shark will build up to thirteen 85-foot Defiant-class welded aluminum cutters for the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala and other U.S. partner nations.

20 Mar 2017

Already Strong on the US West Coast, Scania Looks East

Go east, young man, go east: Scania’s market reach grows with a key workboat contract. The reasons why are easy enough to see. When Scania announced its recent deal with Potomac Riverboat Company, part of the Entertainment Cruises family, to deliver eight, EPA Tier 3, 500 HP DI 13-liter engines in 2017 to power its high-speed, low-wake water taxis in Washington, DC, it marked the beginning of what is so far a good year for the San Antonio-based engine manufacturer. The 88-foot vessels will carry 149 passengers and will be built by Louisiana-based Metal Shark, to specifications from BMT Designers and Planners. The deal not only represents a significant number of individual engines, but more importantly for Scania, it cements the firm’s toehold in the red hot domestic ferry sector.

14 Mar 2017

BMT Wins Design Contract for Four US Commuter Ferries

Photo courtesy of BMT

BMT Nigel Gee (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group, has announced its latest contract in partnership with sister company BMT Designers & Planners, for four 26.3m catamaran passenger ferries, destined for operation with Potomac Riverboat Company. BMT has worked extensively with Potomac Riverboat Company to develop the concept for the new vessel and continues to support the project with production engineering to the selected builder. BMT Nigel Gee’s experience and proven designs in the fast, low wash ferry sector was a key factor in selection.

03 Mar 2017

Metal Shark Puts First Two Citywide Ferries on the Water

(Photo: Tony Broussard – Berard Transportation)

Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark said it has put the first two passenger vessels for New York's new Citywide Ferry Service on the water, having splashed the new builds at its Franklin, La. shipyard late last week. At 7:30 a.m. on February 24, operators from Berard Transportation began the process of moving the first of two 86' x 26' catamaran-hulled aluminum passenger vessels from Metal Shark's final assembly building to the waiting cranes from H. Brown Crane Service, which hoisted the vessel and placed it into the adjacent Charenton Canal.

06 Feb 2017

Ferry Tales: Having a Ferry Good Time

At the most basic level, all new construction projects should offer an improved customer experience. While there are many challenges for designers and builders, complying with the latest ADA accessibility guidelines is a given. Likewise, customers have an elevated level of expectation for improved technology to augment their ride. WiFi, power ports, automated ticketing or counting systems, and onboard information displays are all fast becoming necessities, rather than amenities. (Courtesy: Vigor

Despite of some of the lowest fuel prices experienced in the last eight years, demand for ferry construction is at a seemingly all time high. The focus on building new ferries kicked off in early 2013 and the sustained interest is the continued result of an unleashing of pent up demand. Fleets have been aging and infrastructure needs to be built up in order to accommodate the future demand for commuter ferry travel once fuel prices return to and surpass their once familiar norms.

30 Jan 2017

New Water Taxis Get Scania Power

(Image: Potomac Riverboat Company / Scania USA)

Scania announced a deal with Potomac Riverboat Company, part of the Entertainment Cruises family, which will take delivery of eight DI13-liter engines in 2017 to power its high-speed, low-wake water taxis as part of The Wharf neighborhood in Washington D.C. The 88-foot vessels will carry 149 passengers and will be built by Louisiana-based Metal Shark, to specifications from BMT Designers and Planners. Potomac Riverboat Company and Entertainment Cruises run a combined fleet of 38 boats in a wide range of cities…

26 Jan 2017

Metal Shark to Build DC, New Orleans Passenger Vessels

Rendering of the 88’,149-passenger aluminum catamaran vessel that Metal Shark will produce under a four-boat contract for Potomac Riverboat Company, a division of Entertainment Cruises (Image: Metal Shark)

Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark said it has been awarded two separate contracts to produce passenger vessels for the Potomac Riverboat Company division of Entertainment Cruises, and for the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority. For the Potomac Riverboat Company, Metal Shark will produce four 88’, high speed/low wake, 149-passenger aluminum catamarans. The new passenger vessels will provide commuters in the Washington DC metro region with service between Old Town Alexandria, Virginia; National Harbor, Maryland; and Georgetown and The Wharf in Washington DC.

10 Apr 2007

New Water Taxi to Connect for Old Town Alexandria

National Harbor, the mile-and-a-quarter-long waterfront development under construction just south of the Wilson Bridge in Prince George's County. Riverboat Company and Milt Peterson, founder and chairman of Washington, D.C.-area developer, The Peterson Companies, which is developing the mixed-use project, announced today that the Potomac Riverboat Company will begin seven-day-a-week water taxi service between the two riverside destinations in April 2008. Two newly-commissioned 99-passenger boats, which are yet-to-be named, will run initially on the half-hour between 10 A.M. and 10 P.M., providing 50 one- way trips daily between the Alexandria City Marina and the Commercial North Pier at National Harbor. The crossing is expected to take 20 minutes.