Fire Island News

Fire Island Ferries has taken delivery of its newest vessel, Fire Island Maid, designed by Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) and built by Metal Shark in Bayou La Batre, Ala.The 70- by  23-foot multipurpose vehicle ferry features a steel hull and aluminum superstructure and is equipped with a hydraulic ramp for loading and unloading heavy equipment. The reinforced deck is capable of supporting fully loaded concrete trucks and general cargo up to 100,000 pounds. The aft pilot house accommodates two crew and up to six passengers (assumed to be in their vehicles).

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation, the largest provider of dredging services in the United States, on Wednesday announced the receipt of several major dredging awards totaling $143.5 million with open options pending award of $102.9 million.The awarded work includes:South Atlantic Division Regional Harbor Dredging 2023 Project (Maintenance, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, $26.6 million)Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point, Contract 2 Project (Coastal Protection, New York…

Houston-based dredging contractor Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform dredging near New York's Fire Island.Great Lakes was the sole bidder for $24,498,050 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of the Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point dredging Moriches and Shinnecock Inlets.Work will be performed in Bay Shore, N.Y., with an estimated completion date of March 17, 2023.

Metal Shark won a contract to build a new vehicle ferry for Fire Island Ferries, a vessel designed by Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG).Construction of the new Fire Island Maid recently commenced at Metal Shark’s Bayou La Batre, Alabama shipyard, and the 70 x 23-ft.vessel features a steel hull and aluminum superstructure. With its hydraulically operated bow ramp and reinforced decks designed to support fully loaded concrete trucks and general cargo, the new ferry will provide transport between Bay Shore…

Marine News recently visited the Blount Boats facility in Warren, Rhode Island. While the year 2019 might be the ‘year of the woman’ in the eyes of the International Maritime Organization, the two women at the head of Blount Boats – Marcia & Julie Blount– have been a driving force in the U.S. boatbuilding market for decades. As Blount’s celebrates its 70th anniversary, read about the storied yard’s promising future.Founded in 1949, Blount Boats is a full-service shipyard with a customer base comprised of a variety of commercial and government entities including the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S.

Women make up only an estimated two percent of the global maritime industry. In the U.S., the statistics are a little better, with less than eight percent of ship and boat captain operator roles held by women.Still, for a female to have the opportunity to train up to ship captain is considered “unique.” However, as predictions are being made that there will be a shortage of more than 140,000 deck or ship officers worldwide by 2025 (BIMCO/ICS), we will see more accomplished women take the helm and lead the industry forward.

Naval architecture firm Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI) was recently contracted by Sayville Ferry Service, Inc. located in Sayville, N.Y. to provide the design of an aluminum monohull high speed ferry for 400 passengers and cargo providing service from Sayville to Fire Island.The new design will be based on an existing parent vessel. The vessel will be designed to comply with 46 CFR Subchapter K. The project includes both preliminary and detail design packages for all aspects of naval architecture and marine engineering.

Anyone plying the Great South Bay between the shores of Long Island and Fire Island know that the fleet of Fire Island Ferries is a ubiquitous site, shuttling people, pets and supplies from the mainland to the barrier island oasis just five miles away. The scene is a familiar one, too, for Rhode Island boat builder Blount Boats, which has built quite a few of these ferries, and announced today the contact with Fire Island Ferries to build a new 85-ft. aluminum ferry boat for service between Bay Shore and Fire Island on Great South Bay.

In October the world’s ferry operators gathered in Split Croatia for the Forty Second Annual Interferry Conference. The 470 or so delegates represented 210 operators and support companies from 27 countries. A trade show included firms from around the world including shipbuilders, naval architects, equipment suppliers, training and others of the diverse group that make up the ferry industry. In a panel on Mediterranean Ferries, Philippe Holthof, of the Belgian-based Shipax explained the huge size and complexity of the fleet.

Over time, the Blount shipyard has built more than 365 vessels. Today, Blount Boats’ clients include Fire Island Ferries, Casco Bay Island Transit District, Puerto Rico and Municipal Islands Maritime Authority, Spirit Cruises, Circle Line Statue of Liberty (Hornblower), South Ferry on Shelter Island, Long Island, and the Kwajalein Army Base on the Marshall Islands. Blount has been building high quality, innovative shallow draft designs for 66 years. Blount’s designs have created…

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation announced that it was recently awarded four contracts with an approximate value of $93 million. Great Lakes received two awards for coastal protection work required along the East Coast as a result of the extensive damage caused by Super Storm Sandy in 2012 and other more recent storms. The first award is a $30 million contract that involves sand replenishment and dune building from Kismet to Seaview on Fire Island, New York. Approximately 1.3 million cubic yards of sand will be dredged and pumped onto the beach. This barrier island helps protect back-bay communities along Great South Bay and Moriches Bay. Work is expected to be complete by December 2016.

Silver Ships, Inc. has recently delivered a 34-foot custom designed and purpose-built all-welded aluminum fire/rescue boat to the Islip Fire District on Long Island, N.Y. The Islip Fire District’s area of responsibility includes The Great South Bay, communities on Fire Island, the Atlantic Ocean and Fire Island Inlet. This boat will also be made available to other fire districts on a mutual aid basis. The Board of Fire Commissioners of the Islip Fire District wanted an all-welded aluminum boat to ensure the safety and comfort of their crews when responding to, and on scene, of various emergency situations, including fire and rescue, emergency medical, diving operations and the supply of water to land-based units in order to aid in firefighting operations.

Dave Anderson is the President of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA). He also serves as General Manager/Director of Operations of Fire Island Ferries, Inc., Bay Shore, N.Y. on Long Island. The company has provided passenger service, freight service and water taxi service to Fire Island communities since 1948. The firm operates 23 subchapter T and K vessels ranging from six to 400 passengers. Anderson, an honors graduate from CW Post Long Island University where he earned his BA in Communication Arts in 1984, also holds a 100 ton Masters license which he earned in 1983.

Over time, the Blount shipyard has built 363 vessels, including such iconic designs as the 130-foot, 600-passenger Miss Liberty. Built in 1952, the vessel is believed to have carried more total passengers than any other vessel in the world. Hull number 93, built in 1955, the “Blount 65’ made its debut and was an immediate success with ferry, commuter and excursion operators. Just under 65’ long, it was an important “break point” in Coast Guard regulations. During the late 1950s, Blount designed the Botruc for the offshore oil and gas industry.

A tugboat sank off New York's Fire Island on Saturday, and one crew member died and three were pulled from the icy water by the U.S. Coast Guard. The vessel, the Sea Bear, went down off Fire Island as it was returning to New York from the area's Shinnecock Inlet, said Coast Guard duty officer Mark Averill in New Haven, Connecticut. The Sea Bear notified a vessel service it was taking on water, and the Coast Guard dispatched rescue boats and a helicopter, he said. Hindered by heavy fog, the Coast Guard found three crew members in the 37 Fahrenheit water after about 45 minutes of searching. They were wearing protective immersion suits. The body of a fourth crew member, who was not wearing an immersion suit, was pulled from the water, Averill said.

During the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2014, held January 18-21 in Houston, members of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) elected Terri Bernstein, BB Riverboats Newport, Ky., as PVA President for 2014. Dave Anderson, Fire Island Ferries, Inc., Bay Shore, N.Y. Margo Marks, Beaver Island Boat Company, Charlevoix, Mich. Captain Terri Bernstein is Vice President of Operations of BB Riverboats in Newport, Ky. This third-generation, family-owned business is the oldest riverboat company in the Greater Cincinnati Ohio Region.

Blount Boats completed the 85’ Fire Islander in September 2013. The 382-passenger, 2 deck, all aluminum commuter boat will operate between Bay Shore Long Island and Fire Island on Great South Bay, Long Island, New York. The triple screw vessel is powered by Detroit Series 60 Tier II diesel engines, 600 hp each at 2,100 rpm with 2:1 ZF 550 reduction gears. At a displacement of 43.6 tons, she cruises at 19 knots at 70% of her horsepower load at full complement and 24 knots lightship at wide open throttle with very little wake.

Engine Maintenance trumps a tough economy. Bypass oil filtration technology is one way to get there. For the past several years, ferry service and tugboat operators have had one eye on fuel costs and the other on the economy. But worry as they might, there’s not much, if anything, that operators can do to effect change to the economy or to reduce the price of fuel. What they can do, however, is effect change to reduce their company’s operating costs and that’s where proper engine maintenance can make a significant difference.

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.

During the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2013, held February 16 - 19, in Jacksonville, FL, members of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) elected Carolyn Horgan, Blue & Gold Fleet, San Francisco, CA, as PVA President for 2013. Carolyn Horgan is President of Blue and Gold Fleet in San Francisco, CA. Blue & Gold operates 19 vessels in ferry and excursion routes in the Bay Area. The company is also under contract to the Water Emergency Transportation Authority to operate vessels in the Alameda, Oakland, Vallejo and South San Francisco ferry services.

Lidar confirms Sandy’s dramatic coastal change Impacts and future coastal vulnerability to US Geological Survey. The extent of Hurricane Sandy's wrath -- and the future coastal vulnerability of the region -- is clear in a new U.S. Geological Survey analysis of recently collected lidar coastal data. The research documented particularly dramatic impacts within the Fire Island National Seashore on Long Island, NY . Lidar, or light detection and ranging, uses lasers to measure elevations in a specific distance/area. Researchers used the lidar data, collected during an airborne survey, to construct a high-resolution three-dimensional map of before- and after-storm conditions.

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has delivered a new high-speed ferry to Fire Island Ferries, Inc., on the south shore of Long Island in New York. The new 387-passenger, all-aluminum, mono-hull ferry is a further refinement of a vessel design concept optimized by Fire Island Ferries since the early 1970s to operate on the 20-minute crossing on the shallow Great South Bay. With an emphasis on economy, efficiency, and quick turn-around, there are large passenger doors mid-ship on the main deck.

1932-The Steamboat Inspection Service and Bureau of Navigation were combined to form the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection (47 Stat. L., 415). The new agency remained under the control of the Commerce Department. 1933-The airways division, which had been conducted as a division of the Lighthouse Service, but under the administrative supervision of the Assistant Secretary for Aeronautics, Department of Commerce, was separated from the Lighthouse Service. (USLHS AR 1933, p. 97). 1939-"At the end of the year, the total number of lighthouse tenders was 65, of which 64 were in commission and ‘.1 was out of commission and advertised for sale. Of the vessels in commission, 42 were steam-propelled, 18 had diesel engines, and 4 had diesel-electric drive.