‘Merchant Mariners Delivered’: Remembering the 9/11 Boatlift 25 Years Later

U.S. Maritime Administrator Stephen Carmel on Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks by honoring the merchant mariners who answered an extraordinary call for help and helped carry hundreds of thousands of people out of Lower Manhattan by water.

When the World Trade Center was attacked on September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard issued a call across New York Harbor for “all available boats” to assist with the evacuation.

“And merchant mariners delivered,” Carmel said in a message marking the anniversary.

What followed became one of the most remarkable maritime rescue efforts in U.S. history. As smoke poured across Lower Manhattan and transportation networks shut down, ferries, tugboats and other commercial vessels began moving toward the city. Civilian mariners steered into an active disaster zone, often with little information about what was happening ashore or what they would encounter when they arrived.

Through the chaos, crews began taking on passengers and moving them away from Manhattan. In just nine hours, the flotilla carried nearly half a million people to safety, according to Carmel, in what became the largest sea evacuation in world history.

“They delivered hope. They delivered courage. They delivered the best of America,” Carmel said.

The scale of the operation was extraordinary, but so was the way it came together. There was no single fleet waiting to be activated and no elaborate evacuation plan. Instead, boat operators and crews across New York Harbor responded as the extent of the disaster became clear.

With roads, subways, bridges and tunnels disrupted, the waterfront became one of the only ways out for people trapped in Lower Manhattan.

Mariners aboard ferries and workboats loaded passengers wherever they could, shuttling them across the Hudson and East rivers while more vessels continued arriving to help.

That response has become one of the enduring maritime stories of September 11, though one that has often received less attention than the rescue efforts on land.

Carmel said the same spirit of service has continued in the 25 years since the attacks. U.S. merchant mariners have supported military operations, humanitarian missions, hurricane response and disaster relief while continuing to move the cargo that supports the country’s economy and national security.

“And their legacy endures,” Carmel said.

He also noted that some of the sons and daughters of the mariners who served on September 11 have since entered the industry themselves. “Their service stands as a living testament to the example set on 9/11 and to the enduring strength of our maritime community,” he said.

The story of the boatlift was later chronicled in the short documentary “BOATLIFT: An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience,” narrated by Tom Hanks, which helped bring wider attention to the captains, crews and ordinary mariners who took part in the evacuation.

Twenty-five years later, Carmel said the maritime community continues to remember the victims of the attacks, the first responders who lost their lives and all those who answered the call.

“We will never forget what you delivered for our Nation,” he said.

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