VT Halter launches new ferry for Virginia

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The following is text of a news release from VT Halter Marine:

(PASCAGOULA, Miss.) — VT Halter Marine Inc. has announced the successful launch of Powhatan, the newest ferry for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).

In November 2016, VT Halter Marine was awarded the contract for the design, construction and delivery of the ferry that will replace the current vessel, Virginia, which was built in 1936. Measuring 270 feet by 65 feet by 15 feet, Powhatan is capable of holding up to 70 passenger vehicles, or 14 trucks and buses, and carrying up to 499 passengers, of which 150 can be accommodated in the passenger cabin on the upper deck.

Powhatan is designed and certified according to ABS Rules for Building and Classing Steel Vessels for Service on Rivers and Intracoastal Waterways, US 46 CFR, Subchapter H, Passenger Vessels. It has also met the accessibility requirements of the Proposed Accessibility Guidelines for Passenger Vessels, United States Access Board.

The ferry will be operated by the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry Service at Scotland Wharf in Surry County, Va. The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry System currently operates four ferry boats, including Pocahontas, which was also designed and constructed by VT Halter Marine and delivered in 1995.

By Professional Mariner Staff