Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc., Panama City, FL launched the SSG Michael H. Ollis, the first of three new 4,500-passenger ferries for New York City’s Staten Island Ferry system. The Ollis Class ferries will be double-ended, with an overall length of 320 feet, beam of 70 feet, and draft of 13 feet at the design load at the waterline.
Designed by Elliott Bay Design Group, Seattle, WA, the three ferries will carry only passengers on the 5.2 mile route between the St. George Terminal on the north shore of Staten Island and Whitehall Terminal in lower Manhattan. Each of the ferries will be fitted with four diesel engines that will drive two Voith Schneider Propellers.
With over 25 million riders per year, the Staten Island ferry service is the single busiest ferry route in the United States. The new Ollis Class ferries will replace the MV Andrew J. Barberi , the MV Samuel I. Newhouse and the 54-year-old John F. Kennedy.