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NYC wants your help naming the new hybrid Governors Island ferry
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Mar 29, 2023
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Elliott Bay Design Group
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Mar 29, 2023
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City Hall is fishing for name ideas before its new hybrid ferry hits New York Harbor.
New York City’s first public, hybrid-electric vessel will soon shuttle 1,200 passengers at a time from Lower Manhattan to Governors Island, the Adams administration announced on Wednesday. And the mayor asked for help naming it.
The new ferry will be the first of its kind to provide public transportation in New York Harbor, equipped with a hybrid propulsion system that will allow it to toggle between zero-emission battery-only power and battery-assisted hybrid with diesel backup. The battery assist will allow the new ferry to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 600 tons annually, according to the mayor’s office.
An internal rendering of the new, hybrid Governors Island Ferry.
Elliott Bay Design Group
“Visiting Governors Island is a great way to support cutting-edge climate solutions, and soon, visitors will be able to go one step further just by traveling there,” Adams said in a statement. “As New Yorkers transition to greener forms of transportation, the city and our partners are leading the way with cleaner, more efficient ways to go just about anywhere. The next generation deserves a green city and a vibrant Governors Island, and this first-of-its-kind ferry will help us deliver both.”
But before the new ferry can sail the New York Harbor waters, it needs a name. Mayor Eric Adams and Trust for Governors Island CEO Clare Newman are asking New Yorkers to submit suggestions online between now and May 25, 2023.
The final name will be announced this summer, and the new ferry will be in service in summer of 2024. Currently, the vessel is under construction at Conrad Shipyard’s facility in Morgan City, Louisiana. Once it’s finished, it will have the capacity to transport up to 1,200 passengers at a time, and cruise at a speed of 10 knots (whatever that means.)
The vessel will be replacing the diesel-powered Lt. Samuel S. Coursen, which was commissioned by the army in 1956 and has been in use since. It’ll join alongside other publicly-named vessels in the city, including Dream Boat, Koalafied Cruiser and Ferry Godmother.
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Catalina Gonella
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