New Staten Island Ferry Launched at Eastern
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 rpm EPA Tier 4 marine propulsion engines with two engines powering one ABS Reintjes DUP 3000 P combining gear and one ABS 36 RV6 ECS/285-2 Voith Schneider Propeller at each end of the vessel. Power generation is provided by three ABS, EPA Tier 3 marine continuous duty diesel generator sets, Caterpillar C18 driving 480 V, 60 Hz, 3-phase generators rated at 425 kW at 0.8 P.F. at 1,800 rpm.
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. Ollis, a Staten Island native killed in Afghanistan on August 28, 2013 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom. The first of the series, Hull 219, is named in his honor. Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, of the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light), stepped into the path of a Polish officer, blocking him from the suicide vest of an insurgent who had raided Forward Operating Base Ghazni. Ollis has received several honors posthumously including: Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Silver Star, The Audie Murphy Medallion, Polish Gold Star Medal of Honor, and the Afghanistan Star from Poland for his valor. He was 24 years old.
ESG Hull #/Names: H219 - SSG Michael H. Ollis, H220 - Sandy Ground, H221 - TBD
Length Overall: 320'
Length on Design Load Waterline: 308'-3 1/2"
Beam, Molded: 70'
Beam over Guards: 70'-3"
Depth at Main Deck at Side: 21'-6”
Design Draft: 13’
Installed Horsepower: 9,980 HP
Fuel Oil Capacity (95%, approximate): 30,000 gal
Minimum Seating Capacity: 2,551
Maximum Passenger Capacity: 4,500
Crew: 16
Regulatory: ABS A1, Ferry Service, River Service, AMS Notation. USCG Subchapter H Passenger Vessel
