Ollis-class ferry

Early work on the class began in August 2014, after a study into the future of Staten Island Ferry's fleet showed that the most economical course would be new-build ships instead of rebuilding existing vessels.[4] The Elliott Bay Design Group was awarded a contract to design the new ships, which will replace MV John F. Kennedy and MV Andrew J. Barberi, resulting in one additional ship in the Staten Island Ferry fleet.[5][4] The following month, substantial funding for the project, covering the construction of two ships, was secured with a $191.6 million federal grant from the Hurricane Sandy relief bill.[6] As part of the new order, city officials allowed passengers to vote on the types of seats that would be installed in the new fleet.[7]

In November 2016, Eastern Shipbuilding was confirmed as the low bidder for constructing the ships,[2] and the shipyard was awarded the contract with a notice to proceed on March 1, 2017.[3] The final price for construction of the three vessels was $314 million; in addition to the federal grant, state and city funding was also used.[3] The first vessel, MV Michael H. Ollis, was expected to be delivered in mid-2019,[3] followed later that year by MV Sandy Ground, named after an early African American settlement on Staten Island. The as-yet-unnamed third vessel would have been delivered in 2020.[8]

A petition to name the third Ollis-class ship after Staten Island firefighter John G. Chipura, who died in the September 11 attacks, reached 11,000 signatures by September 2017.[9] Other proposed namesakes include Russel Timoshenko, an NYPD officer killed in the line of duty in 2007.[10]

In October 2018, the timeline for the ferries' delivery was pushed back. Some of the parts for the first two Ollis-class ferries were being manufactured at Eastern Shipbuilding's shipyard in Panama City, Florida, which had been severely damaged after Hurricane Michael that month.[11][12] MV Michael H. Ollis was launched in November 2019, with an expected delivery date of August 2020.[13] MV Sandy Ground was launched in June 2020.[14]

Each ship of the class will be 320 feet (98 m) long, with a beam of 70 feet (21 m), and a loaded draft of 13 feet (4.0 m).[3] They will carry 4,500 passengers, with a crew complement of 16.[3][14] They will be powered by four EMD 12-710 diesel engines arranged in two married pairs, each of which drive a cycloidal propeller at each end of the ship for double-ended operation.[3]