Officials with Manitowoc’s Burger Boat Company say they’ve received a contract to build a new vehicle and passenger ferry for the Eastern Upper Peninsula Authority in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Due to launch next summer, NEEBISH ISLANDER III will measure 92-feet long, is constructed of steel, and operate year-round on the St. Mary’s River in the U-P, between Barbeau, Michigan and Neebish Island.
The ferry was designed to operate in the harsh winter environment and through the solid ice conditions it will encounter on its’ route.
Jim Ruffolo, President and CEO at Burger Boat, said in a news release “We’re grateful to be selected by the Eastern Upper Peninsula Transportation Authority to build their new vessel.”
He added, “At Burger, our team prizes collaboration among each other and with our clients, to deliver vessels people can look upon with pride year after year.”
Mark Pudlo, President of Seacraft Design, LLC of Sturgeon Bay, said “Based on the experience of four previous commercial vessel designs built by this shipyard, we know that EUPTA will receive a first-class product from Burger Boat Company, and we look forward to collaborating once again.”
