b'MEMBER NEWSEastern Shipbuilding Group Launches Ferry for Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Co.E asternShipbuildingGroup,Inc.(ESG)successfullylaunchedtheferryLong IslandatitsAllantonShipyardinPanamaCity,Fla.,inthebeginningofMay.Thenewpassengerand auto ferry will operate betweenBridgeport, Conn., and Port Jeffer-son,N.Y.,traversingtheLongIslandSound.ThevesselwaschristenedbyRosemary McAllister, director ofstrategy, and attended by representa-tivesfromvesselownersBridgeport&PortJeffersonSteamboatCo.,asub-sidiary of McAllister Towing. BothcompaniesarePVAmembers. ofmakingothershappy.Allofthose quality vessels and transformed thewho have worked to make the ferry maritimeserviceswecanoffer.WeareThe302Long Islandaccommodates service what it is today can be very verythankfultoEasternShipbuildingboth vehicles and passengers and is proudoftheirrolehelpingdriverson andtheDIserniafamilyforthehap-designed with several enhancements theI-95andLongIslandExpressway. pinessthisnewvesselwillbringtoourincluding Tier IV main engines, Eastern Shipbuilding has provided employeesandcustomersforgenera-increased crew capacity, and an up- ourcompanywithoveradozenhigh tionstocome.graded furniture package. Scheduledfordeliverylaterthisyear,thisstate-of-the-artvesselwilljoinafleetthatin-cludestwootherEastern-builtferries:theP.T. Barnum (1999)andtheGrand Republic (2003). McAllister TowinghasbeenalongstandingpartnerwithESG,havingcommissionedmorethanadozenvesselsfromtheshipbuilder. The Bridgeport & Port JeffersonSteamboatCo.providestransitacrossLong Island Sound for hundredsPHOTO: EASTERN SHIPBUILDING GROUP, INC. of thousands of passengers and carseveryyear.TheadditionoftheLongIsland will upgrade and expand theservice,ensuringathree-vesselduringpeak periods. Buck McAllister, thepresident oftheferrycompany,saidP.T.Barnum,thefounderofthefer-ry,oncesaidthatthenoblestartisthat33 MAY 2024'