Tomorrow, two events will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 boatlift, in which an estimated 500,00 people were rescued from Lower Manhattan following the attacks of 9/11.  We recently posted about the Flotilla and Blessing of the Fleet hosted by the Classic Harbor Line Fleet. 100% of all ticket sales are donated to various waterfront organizations. Click here to learn more and to purchase tickets.  

Onshore, the New York Council Navy League will present the 9/11 Boatlift 20th Anniversary Tribute, which will be held on Friday, September 10, 2021 at 1:00 P.M. at the American Merchant Mariners’ Memorial in Battery Park, Manhattan. 

This event is being held to honor the heroes who participated in the world’s largest maritime evacuation and will include a shoreside ceremony, vessel procession and blessing of the fleet. Invited speakers include Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Admiral Karl Schultz, Commandant of the Coast Guard, former Director of Port Commerce at the Port Authority of NY/NJ and retired USCG Rear Admiral Rick Larrabee, and retired Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Mike Stevens, CEO of the Navy League of the United States. 

This event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, so it is recommended that you register here to help give an accurate expectation of crowd size.

Following the September 11 attacks in New York City, more than 500,000 people were unable to leave Lower Manhattan due to the closure of bridges and tunnels throughout the city. Within minutes of the first plane hitting the first tower, multiple fireboats from the New York City Fire Department rushed to the scene. The United States Coast Guard coordinated a large convoy of merchant ships, tugboats, and ferries to evacuate the stranded and injured victims.

More than 150 different vessels and 600 sailors helped evacuate victims and delivered supplies in the days following the attacks. According to the Commandant of the Coast Guard James Loy, the mass evacuation of more than 500,000 civilians following the attacks “moved more people from the island than the 1940 evacuation of Allied troops from France.”