When terrorists struck the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, a variety of vessels in New York Harbor evacuated people from the stricken part of Manhattan. Staten Island Ferries like the one shown here made runs back and forth to Manhattan all day, evacuating more than 50,000 people.
Courtesy New York City Police Department
Lines for Circle Line, World Yacht and New York Waterway boats at 38th St. on Manhattan's West Side extended for more than 30 blocks. Some people waited for three hours to board a boat.
Courtesy New York City Police Department
Fireboat John J. Harvey can be seen loading passengers just south of South Cove, adjacent to the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Farther south, New York Waterway ferries and tugboats load passengers from the sea wall in Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park as a US Coast Guard vessel approaches.
Courtesy New York City Police Department
New York Waterway boats nose up to the sea wall at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park, north of Pier A (with the green-roofed tower). Just out of view is a small dock where Chelsea Screamer Capt. Sean Kennedy asked firefighters to break the lock so passengers could board.
Courtesy New York City Police Department
The view north from above Governor's Island shows a fleet of diverse vessels approaching smoke-filled Lower Manhattan and the Battery at the southern tip of the island. New Jersey is on the left.
Courtesy New York City Police Department
New York Waterway ferries and thrill ride/tour boat Chelsea Screamer (far right) evacuated passengers as the second tower collapsed. The white tent covering the World Financial Center ferry terminal can be seen at the edge of the advancing dust cloud.
Courtesy New York City Police Department
The view south from Manhattan shows tugs racing from Staten Island and New Jersey to the Battery. On the left is the southern tip of Governors Island. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is visible in the background.
Courtesy New York City Police Department
Passengers disembark just north of Paulus Hook in Jersey City. A ferry terminal receives smaller ferryboats and NYPD vessels, while larger boats, including Fireboat John D. McKean, drop their passengers at the abandoned wooden pier on the left. On the shore, EMTs have begun laying out color-coded tarps to tend to the injured in their makeshift triage center.
