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Seastreak video image via Facebook
Midship Marine delivers high-capacity catamaran ferry to Seastreak
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ew York Harbor commuter ferry operator Seastreak upped its game in December with the arrival of the Courageous, a 720-passenger aluminum catamaran vessel built by Midship Marine, Harvey, La. The new vessel stretches by 7' the fleet’s last 150'×40' acquisition, the Commodore, delivered in 2018. The Courageous now ranks as the largest capacity high-speed ferry in the U.S., company officials said. “It’s basically a sistership, but it’s a couple of frames larger,” said Seastreak president Jim Barker. The other difference is upgrades in passenger amenities and comfort, he added: “It’s a couple of notches above any ferry boat I’ve ever seen.” With steady increases in passenger volume and company growth, Seastreak officials made the decision to go even bigger in 2019, stepping up from the 600-passenger capacity of the Commodore. As the Covid-19 22
pandemic struck in spring 2020, the company saw ridership plunge. But Seastreak persevered with the newbuild plan. The new vessel’s name was conceived that summer as a tribute to medical workers who continued to travel by ferry to treat Covid patients, said James D. Barker, Seastreak’s director of business development and marketing. After making the transit from New Orleans to New Jersey, the Courageous started service in mid-December, running peak departures including 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. out of the Seastreak terminal at Highlands, N.J. An important design difference with Courageous is a modified bow radius that allows more versatility with bow loading at different landings, said Brian Achille, Seastreak’s director of engineering. That includes matching the bow to The Steamship Authority’s docks at Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., a big summer destination for
Seastreak says its new 720-passenger catamaran now ranks as the largest capacity high-speed ferry in the U.S.
Seastreak customers that the company hopes will surge back in summer 2022. The Steamship Authority is the largest ferry service to the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket from Cape Cod. Main propulsion for the Courageous comes from four MTU 12V4000 M64 main engines producing 1,398-kW (1,873 hp) at 1,800 rpm each. The mains are connected to four KaMeWa 5654 waterjets. Ship’s service power is the responsibility of twin John Deere 6068 SFM85 gensets and the new ferry is USCG certified Subchapter K. The company had its best season ever in 2019, and with the easing of restrictions during 2021 saw commuter ridership return to almost 60% of 2019’s numbers. The arrival of the Covid Omicron variant and new pre-
www.workboat.com • FEBRUARY 2022 • WorkBoat
