Eastern Shipbuilding Group marked the keel laying for a 302-foot vehicle and passenger ferry for Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Co. of Connecticut.
The shipyard, based in Panama City, Fla., cut steel for hull No. 228 in January ahead of the keel laying held in March. Delivery is scheduled for March 2024, the shipyard said in a news release.
The vessel is based on the P.T. Barnum and Grand Republic ferries Eastern previously constructed for McAllister Towing and Transportation Co., owner of the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Co. The ferry will operate between Bridgeport, Conn., and Port Jefferson, N.Y.
“We have been doing business with McAllister for more than 30 years. We are very proud that we have earned their trust with a gold standard that repeat customers like Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Co. and McAllister expect from a shipyard,” said Joey D’Isernia, CEO and chairman of Eastern Shipbuilding Group.
“(We are) pleased to renew our longstanding relationship with Eastern Shipbuilding Group in building a new state-of-the-art vehicle and passenger ferry for service across Long Island Sound,” Fred Hall, vice president and general manager of Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Co., said in a statement.
Kenner, La.-based Karl Senner LLC will supply the main propulsion gearboxes, torsional couplings, and main propulsion control system, as well as the bow thrusters, bow thruster control system, gearboxes, intermediate shaft lines, shaft brake, and torsional couplings.
Eastern has constructed more than a dozen vessels for longtime customer McAllister over the years.