Brand new $85M Staten Island Ferry in NY harbor catches fire with almost 900 aboard

A new $85 million Staten Island ferry caught fire in New York Harbor with about 900 on board scrambling for life jackets as the ship’s cabin filled with smoke.

The fire started in the engine room of the ferry around 5 p.m. Thursday as it headed from Lower Manhattan to Staten Island.

The ferry was temporarily anchored while the passengers were unloaded and transported safely on separate tugs.

The passengers were taken to the St. George Ferry Terminal along with the ferry that was following closely behind them.

Five people suffered minor injuries, three of whom were taken to a local hospital.

The New York Fire Department said there were 868 passengers and 16 crew on board at the time.

First responders rushed to the burning boat, which had been anchored in the harbor just off the pier while firefighters battled the blaze. They contained the fire in the engine room.

The FDNY is monitoring the ship’s engine room temperatures for the next 24 hours to determine when it is safe to enter.

A video filmed by a passenger shows some people struggling to get life jackets in a smoke-filled cabin on the ship.

However, subsequent footage shows the passengers remained calm as they were evacuated from the burning boat.

Sal Chatman Morando, a Staten Island resident and Manhattan porter, told the New York Post that a man had started yelling that there was ‘heavy, heavy’ smoke coming from the bottom of the boat.

“I thought he was crazy, I thought there was no way,” Morando recounted.

Morando was trapped on the boat for nearly two hours, he said, until it was pushed to Staten Island.

As the ferry approached the terminal, the remaining passengers were asked to sit on the ground and prepare for impact.

Rescue teams were reportedly hitting in very poor visibility and are relying on radar to get to the ferry, which sources say is a new $85 million ship, the outlet reported.

Elizabeth Quinn, a Manhattan resident, was on her way to visit her family in Staten Island for the holidays when chaos broke out.

quinn said Silvia that he had his headphones on but could hear a beep just before the incident.

“But the fire alarms didn’t go off and we were still moving,” he said.

“I started texting my friends and I was like, I think there’s something wrong with the ship, but I was just kidding about it.

‘Then the shuttle [employees] They started talking on their walkie-talkies, and I was like, wait, I think this is a little serious.

Quinn said a Department of Transportation employee showed up soon and began waking up passengers.

‘[They said], ‘Everyone in the front of the boat, grab a life jacket.’ They started throwing life jackets at us, no one has any idea what’s going on, and all of a sudden, the lights go out.

“It was absolutely insane,” added Quinn, who was initially sitting on the lower level deck. “There were people yelling that the ferry was going to explode.”

Quinn said passengers were initially chaotic, then briefly calmed down.

“But then once we all started seeing the smoke, I think it got worse.”

She admitted that the chaos made her think of another possible scenario.

“I thought it was like a shooting of some kind, because when you hear those alarms, that’s the first place your head goes,” he said.

“There were people around me saying that the ferry was going to explode, so I thought maybe there was a bomb. I [wasn’t] thinking [it was a] fire. Like, fire was the last thing on my mind.

‘It was so scary. I can’t even put it into words right now. I’m still shaking.

Sydney George, a St. George resident, and her boyfriend were returning to Staten Island from a doctor’s appointment in Brooklyn and told the outlet that people were in shock.

“People started to panic, they were in shock and had anxiety attacks, and you could smell the smoke.”

George said the smoke was more frequent on the Brooklyn side of the ferry.

“I was scared,” admitted George, who said his mind turned to his little daughter.

Ivan McCall, a passenger on the boat from the Silver Lake area, said there was so much smoke at one point that “you couldn’t even see your hands.”

“The boat was driving, everything was quiet, and then a loud beeping started going off,” he said.

‘We all knew something was wrong, and then the police started to riot.

“They start throwing out life jackets,” he continued. And everyone starts to panic. A bunch of women were crying, I was crazy, man.

McCall was on the lower level, but he said smoke drifted in as passengers put on life jackets and then directed upstairs.

“The ferry crew and the police handled things very well,” McCall said. They tried to make sure no one panicked.

He said there was a large drop, possibly as much as four feet, that the evacuated passengers had to navigate as they transferred from the ferry to the rescue tug.

A Rosebank passenger who asked to be identified only by her first name, Vera, told her story.

Shortly after the incident, Roland Rexha of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA) union, which represents the Staten Island ferry crew, issued a statement: “Today’s Staten Island Ferry fire is very alarming.”

“We have been deeply concerned for the safety of our passengers and crew, as the new Ollis vessels have had serious problems and DOT did not train our members on the new fleet.

‘Our dedicated and experienced sailors are working long and tireless hours to maintain our service. The safety of the ferry is our greatest responsibility.’

MEBA has been fighting the city for 12 years for a ‘fair and respectful’ new contract, and workers have not received a single pay raise since 2010.

Union officials say the lack of a new contract and low existing wages have made it difficult for the city to recruit and retain talent during the shortage of domestic maritime workers.

The Ollis-class ferry Rexha is referring to encompasses three new ships: Staff Sergeant Michael H. Ollis’s ship, which made its maiden voyage in June, Sandy Ground, and Dorothy Day, the newest and final ship of the trio The Dorothy Day joined the fleet in November.