By James Heinz
New York City is a city of islands. Its first ferries date to when the city was a Dutch colony named New Amsterdam. As early as 1642 ferries connected these New York islands with each other and the mainland. However, the construction of bridges and tunnels and the proliferation of the automobile led to the abandonment of these ferry services by 1967.
All except one.
The ferry line from Manhattan to Staten Island has continued in service because Staten Island is too far from Manhattan to construct a connecting tunnel or bridge. The ferry is the only non-vehicular mode of transportation between the two boroughs.
When you ride the Staten Island ferry, you’re riding a piece of Wisconsin.
Fincantieri Marinette Marine Corp., founded on the Menominee River in Marinette, Wis., in 1942, to meet the need for American shipbuilding during Word War II, made some of the passenger ferries sailing the waters of the New York Harbor.
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The Staten Island Ferry service has eight boats categorized into four classes — the one-boat Kennedy Class built in 1965, the two-boat Barbieri Class made in 1981, and the two-boat Austen Class built in 1986. Of four vessels originally in the Kennedy Class, only the JOHN KENNEDY remains in part-time service.
The fourth class is the Molinari.
Fincantieri Marinette Marine Corp. built the three vessels in the Molinari class when the company’s name was Manitowoc Marine Group in Marinette. According to the website siferry.com, the three boats are MV GUY V. MOLINARI, MV SENATOR JOHN J. MARCHI and MV SPIRIT OF AMERICA. They are designed in the look and ambiance of the classic New York ferryboats.
The website reports that each boat has a crew of sixteen. Each can carry up to 4,427 passengers and a maximum of thirty vehicles. The vessels are 310 feet long and 70 feet wide with a draft of 13 feet 10 inches. Each ferry has a gross tonnage of 2,794 and a service speed of sixteen knots, driven with an engine capable of 9,000 horsepower.
GUY V. MOLINARI, delivered in 2004, is named after a former U.S. representative who became a borough president of Staten Island. Delivered in 2005, SENATOR JOHN J. MARCHI is named for a state senator who represented Staten Island for fifty years. SPIRIT OF AMERICA was delivered Oct. 25, 2005, to celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the municipal takeover of the Staten Island Ferry from the B&O railroad. SPIRIT OF AMERICA’s keel was built with steel from the World Trade Center Towers and was named to honor the spirit and unity of America after the attacks. Its maiden voyage was April 4, 2006, according to Wikipedia.
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JOHN J. MARCHI lost power and hit a pier, resulting in fifteen minor injuries on July 1, 2009; a 2003 accident claimed eleven lives involving a Barbieri class boat.
The automobile, which hastened the end of most New York ferry services, has been responsible for the re-establishment of ferry services in recent years, permitting commuters to avoid the congestion caused by automobiles.
Immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Staten Island ferryboats evacuated victims from the twin towers of World Trade Center, Wikipedia reported, noting that many people continued to use the ferry line even after the subways and highways were reopened.
Today, twenty-two million people a year ride the Staten Island Ferry, siferry.com reports. During the pandemic, face masks have been required. On a typical day, four boats transport about seventy thousand passengers during one-hundred and seventeen trips. More than forty thousand trips are made annually.
The five-mile, twenty-five minute ride is free. Along with the service it also provides a majestic view of New York Harbor, including a view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, as well as the city’s skyscrapers and bridges of Lower Manhattan.
Sources:
www.siferry.com
shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/marinette.htm
https://www.exp1.com/blog/new-yorks-most-famous-ferry/
https://www.iloveny.com/travel-tools/transportation/ferries/
Photo: SPIRIT OF AMERICA, built in 2005 by Fincantieri Marinette Marine Corp. in Wisconsin when the company was known as the Manitowoc Marine Group. Photo license.
James Heinz is the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society’s acquisitions director. He became interested in maritime history as a kid watching Jacques Cousteau’s adventures on TV. He was a Great Lakes wreck diver until three episodes of the bends forced him to retire from diving. He was a University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee police officer for thirty years. He regularly flies either a Cessna 152 or 172.
