Page 38: of Marine News Magazine (December 2016)

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BOATBUILDING

Metal Shark

Innovative Boats, Innovative Boats,

Unusual CollaborationUnusual Collaboration

Hornblower, Horizon, Incat and Metal Shark team up on one of the most signif cant newbuilding projects of the year.

By Joseph Keefe hen New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier tition controlled by the New York City Economic Devel- this year announced the selection of Hornblower opment Corporation (NYEDC). According to NYCEDC,

W to operate as many as 20 ferries to connect a simi- the City received multiple responses to that RFP and se- lar number of New York City neighborhoods, the magnitude of lected Hornblower on the basis of its ability to provide the the award immediately outweighed the details of the contract. highest quality service at the best value to taxpayers.

The vessels, intended to eventually form the backbone of a Hornblower in March promised to create more than modern, comfortable and ef? cient urban ferry ? eet, will also be 150 new jobs in New York Harbor, augmenting their al-

New York City’s ? rst city-wide ferry system in over 100 years. ready signi? cant presence of local maritime professionals

Now on track to launch in 2017, the news service is in the Empire State. But before any of that can happen, predicated on the on-time delivery of high tech, newbuild the new boats must be built and delivered. A focused visit hulls now being constructed on the U.S. Gulf Coast. It is to the U.S. Gulf Coast by MarineNews in October showed here where an unusually collaborative effort – in more ways that not only are building plans on track, they include a than one – is shaping up as the model for future projects. collaborative approach that includes Hornblower itself,

The selection of Hornblower ended a year-long compe- two boatbuilders and the vessel’s designers.

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