Metal Shark selected to build NYC ferries

Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark has been selected by HNY Ferry Fleet, operator of New York City’s Citywide Ferry Service, to build a series of 26-metre, 149-passenger aluminium high-speed ferries.

The new Citywide Ferry service is set to launch in the summer of 2017 and will offer travel throughout New York City’s waterfront areas.

A new fleet of passenger ferries operating six routes over 50 nautical miles of waterways will connect New Yorkers and visitors to waterfront communities across the boroughs, servicing over 4.6 million passenger trips annually and integrating into the city’s overall transportation network.

The ferries produced by Metal Shark will use a USCG Subchapter T design that delivers a 25-knot operating speed while reducing environmental impact by incorporating low emission engines and low wake technology.

The first new vessel is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2017.