MV Governor

Last updated
MV Governor 2014.png
MV Governor travelling to Woods Hole, Massachusetts on 10 August 2014.
History
Name
  • 1954-1970: MV Crown City
  • 1970-1982: MV Kulshan
  • 1982-Present: MV Governor
Owner
RouteClinton-Mukilteo (as MV Kulshan)
BuilderOakland, California
Yard number267527
Christened1970
Completed1954
In service1954
Identification
StatusIn service
Notes
  • (As Kulshan):
  • Official Number: 267527
  • Call Sign: WF6787
  • Name Translation: From the Lummi/Nooksack language - Great White Watcher; the native name for Mount Baker
General characteristics
Tonnage678
Length242 ft 1.5 in (74 m)
Beam65 ft 1.5 in (19.9 m)
Draft12 ft 9 in (3.9 m)
Deck clearance16 ft 0 in (4.9 m)
Installed powerTotal 1,200 hp from 2 x Diesel-Electric engines
Speed13  kn (24 km/h)
Capacity
  • 350 passengers
  • 59 vehicles (max 24 commercial)

The MV Governor is a passenger ferry that operates in Massachusetts. She was formerly the MV Crown City between 1954 and 1970, and the MV Kulshan between 1970 and 1982.

Currently operated by the Steamship Authority, she was built in 1954 to operate the ferry service from San Diego to Coronado, California. After the San Diego-Coronado Bridge was built, spanning her original route, she was sold to Washington State Ferries where she was christened the MV Kulshan and served in Puget Sound waters from 1970 to 1982. Along with the distinction of being the most despised ferry in the WSF fleet, [1] the Kulshan was featured as the ferry ridden by Lisa Blount and Debra Winger in the 1982 film, An Officer and a Gentleman .

After her stint with the Washington State Ferries system, the Kulshan was declared surplus to requirements and sold to the United States Coast Guard to provide service for their large Atlantic Area headquarters base on Governors Island in New York Harbor, an island community and workplace for 5000 people. The ferry was towed south and through the Panama Canal in making its way to the east coast. Once in New York City, the ferry was renamed Governor and as part of a fleet of two other ferries, the Samuel L. Coursen and the Minue, shuttled passengers and vehicles from the Battery Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan to Governors Island.

The closure of the Governors Island Coast Guard base in 1996 made her surplus for a third time whereupon she was purchased by SSA in 1998. [2] The double-ended Governor is the widest and second-longest vessel in the SSA fleet, with a beam of 65 feet and a length of 242 ft, and is the only vessel with diesel-electric propulsion. Three Caterpillar diesel engines power two electric propulsion motors giving her a speed of 12 kn (14 mph).

In October 2007, the MV Governor was involved in a minor collision with the ferry MV Island Home as Governor was beginning a hazardous cargo trip to the Vineyard. No passengers were on board or injured in the incident. Coast Guard marine safety inspectors examined both ships and permitted the Island Home to return to service about one hour after her scheduled departure time with only a dent in the hull, above the waterline. The MV Governor required slightly more repair, but was back in service by the end of the day. Petty Officer Lauren Downs of the Coast Guard stated "Results of standard drug and alcohol tests on Governor's crew, after the accident, were negative". [2]

Related Research Articles

A ferry is a watercraft that carries passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water taxi or water bus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington State Ferries</span> Public ferry service in Washington, US

Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals located around Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands, designated as part of the state highway system. The agency maintains a fleet of 21 vessels that are able to carry passengers and vehicles.

MV <i>Hyak</i>

The MV Hyak is a Super-class ferry that was operated by Washington State Ferries. Built in 1966 at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company shipyard in San Diego, the ferry began service on July 20, 1967, and normally ran on the Seattle–Bremerton route or the Anacortes–San Juan Islands run.

Steel Electric-class ferry

The Steel Electric-class ferries are a class of auto/passenger ferries that became part of the Washington State Ferry System when Puget Sound Navigation Company was acquired in 1951. They were built in San Francisco Bay for service on Southern Pacific and Northwestern Pacific Railroad routes across the bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steamship Authority</span> Regulatory body for ferry operations in Massachusetts

The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority, doing business as The Steamship Authority (SSA), is the statutory regulatory body for all ferry operations between mainland Massachusetts and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, as well an operator of ferry services between the mainland and the islands. It is the only ferry operator to carry automobiles to and from the islands. The Authority also operates several freight vessels, thus serving as the main link for shipping any commercial goods that are not transported using the airports on Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferries of San Francisco Bay</span>

San Francisco Bay in California has been served by ferries of all types for over 150 years. John Reed established a sailboat ferry service in 1826. Although the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge led to the decline in the importance of most ferries, some are still in use today for both commuters and tourists.

MV <i>Coho</i> Ferry between Port Angeles and Victoria

The MV Coho is a passenger and vehicle ferry owned and operated by Black Ball Line. Black Ball's only ferry, Coho carries passengers and cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailers, bicycles, etc. between Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and Port Angeles, Washington, United States.

MV <i>Islander</i>

The M/V Islander was a 201-foot (61 m)-long ferry formerly operated by the Steamship Authority (SSA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Gate Ferry</span> Transport company in United States of America

Golden Gate Ferry is a commuter ferry service operated by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District in San Francisco Bay, part of the Bay Area of Northern California, United States. Regular service is run to the Ferry Building in San Francisco from Larkspur, Sausalito, Tiburon, and Angel Island in Marin County, with additional service from Larkspur to Oracle Park and Chase Center. The ferry service is funded primarily by passenger fares and Golden Gate Bridge tolls. In 2023, Golden Gate Ferry had a ridership of 1,299,200, or about 3,500 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.

SS <i>Asbury Park</i>

Asbury Park was a high-speed coastal steamer built in Philadelphia, and intended to transport well-to-do persons from New York to summer homes on the New Jersey shore. This vessel was sold to West Coast interests in 1918, and later converted to an automobile ferry, serving on various routes San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound and British Columbia. This vessel was known by a number of other names, including City of Sacramento, Kahloke, Langdale Queen, and Lady Grace.

MV <i>Kulshan</i>

The MV Kulshan was a passenger ferry operated by the Washington State ferry system on Puget Sound from 1970 to 1982.

<i>Carlisle II</i> Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet vessel

Carlisle II is the oldest of only two operational examples of a Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet vessel. They were once part of a large fleet of small passenger and freight carrying ships that linked the islands and ports of Puget Sound in Washington state in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

MV <i>Lochinvar</i>

MV Lochinvar is a pioneering diesel electric hybrid ferry built for Caledonian MacBrayne. Initially, she operated between Tarbert and Portavadie, was moved to the Mallaig to Armadale route in 2016 and currently operates on the Lochaline to Fishnish route. She is one of only three passenger and vehicle roll-on, roll-off ferries in the world to incorporate a low-carbon hybrid system of diesel electric and lithium ion battery power and is the second hybrid ferry commissioned and owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets. The ferries are sea-going and are 43.5 m (143 ft) long, accommodating 150 passengers, 23 cars or two HGVs. The first ferry, MV Hallaig, entered service on the Sconser to Raasay route in October 2013. The third sister ship, MV Catriona, entered service in 2016.

The MV Willapa was a car ferry that served on the San Francisco Bay and later on Puget Sound. She was one of the Steel Electric-class ferries built in 1927 for service across the San Francisco Bay. Originally named MV Fresno, she was operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad and provided ferry service across the bay.

MV <i>Lady Denman</i> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

Lady Denman is a former Sydney Harbour ferry built in 1912 for the Balmain New Ferry Company. She was later run by Sydney Ferries Limited and its government successors. She is now preserved at the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum near her original build site in Huskisson, New South Wales, Australia.

MV <i>Catriona</i>

MV Catriona is a pioneering diesel electric hybrid passenger and vehicle roll-on, roll-off ferry built for Caledonian MacBrayne for the Claonaig–Lochranza crossing. She is the third hybrid ferry commissioned and owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets, one of three such ferries in the world to incorporate a low-carbon hybrid system of diesel electric and lithium ion battery power. The ferries are sea-going and are nearly 46 metres (150 ft) long, accommodating 150 passengers, 23 cars or two HGVs.

MV <i>Woods Hole</i>

MV Woods Hole is a passenger and vehicle ferry operated by the Steamship Authority.

MV <i>Brown Bear</i> American research vessel

MV Brown Bear was an American research vessel in commission in the fleet of the United States Department of Agriculture′s Bureau of Biological Survey and Alaska Game Commission from 1934 to 1940 and in the fleet of the United States Department of the Interior′s Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1951, under the control of the University of Washington from 1952 to 1965, and in commission in the fleet of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from 1965 to 1970 and of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration′s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) from 1970 to 1972.

MV <i>Finest</i>

MV Finest is an aluminum-hulled catamaran fast passenger ferry built at Derecktor Shipyards in 1997 for New York Fast Ferry Services. She is owned and operated by Kitsap Transit on a Seattle–Kingston route since 2018. Finest is a former NY Waterway vessel and at one point provided service from the Massachusetts mainland to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

MV <i>Glenbrook</i>

MV Glenbrook is a double-ended, drive-through ferry, operating across the River Lee in County Cork. She was built in 1970 as MV Lochalsh for the Caledonian Steam Packet Company and served on the Skye crossing until 1991.

References

  1. MV Kulshan - The despised ferry of Puget Sound at evergreen fleet.com
  2. 1 2 "News in Brief". Martha's Vineyard Times. 2007-10-04. Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2009-06-14.