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NEW: Daily Tours from Midtown!
New York Media Boat now has a second great location in Manhattan!
You can still hop aboard at North Cove Marina in Downtown New York, but now we also offer daily tours from our new Midtown location at Chelsea Piers. The Adventure Sightseeing Tours and the Private Charters cover the same route, no matter which location you board our boats at and will take you under the Brooklyn Bridge and out to the Statue of Liberty.
Take a tour with us and then visit other nearby Midtown attractions:
Insider tip: Grab lunch at Pier 57, and go to the rooftop for spectacular views over the Hudson River.
In town with kids? Chelsea Piers offers bowling, ice skating, and an arcade!
The map below shows our two departure locations.
We hope to welcome you aboard soon!
New Staten Island Ferries for New York City
New York City has received three new 4,500 passenger ferries. The ships were built by Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Florida and towed up the East Coast to NYC by Dann Ocean Towing.
The first new ferry, put into service earlier this year, is named after Staff Sergeant Michael H. Ollis, a Staten Island resident, killed in Afghanistan.
The second ferry was christened ‘Sandy Ground’ in honor of the nation’s oldest continuously inhabited free Black settlement and started service in June, 2022
The third ferry ‘Dorothy Day’ is named after a Staten Island journalist and social activist.
Megamax Cranes arrive New York
The heavy load carrier BigLift Baffin delivers three new cranes to the Port of New York and New Jersey. The 492ft tall cranes were built by Liebherr in Ireland and are destined for the Maher Terminal in Elizabeth, NJ.
Said to be the largest single item ever engineered and built in Ireland, the ship staged outside the Verrazano Bridge and lowered the booms in order to fit under the bridges.
The Bayonne Bridge was raised in 2019 from 151ft clearance to 215ft clearance to accommodate larger ships. The BigLift Baffin announced on VHF their total heigh with cranes to be 218’9”. Tonight’s full moon was probably needed for an extra low tide in order to transit the bridge.
Images available for purchase. ©2022 Bjoern Kils, New York Media Boat.
Statue of Liberty - Best Viewed from NY Media Boat
The Statue of Liberty is America’s most famous landmark. A universal symbol of freedom, hope, and democracy, she stands proudly in New York Harbor greeting anyone arriving by boat.
We offer two Statue of Liberty Boat Tours: Our ‘Adventure Sightseeing Tour’, and our 'Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge Speedboat Tour’ stop right in front of the Statue so you can take the best photos and selfies with her.
Why is it best to take photos from our boat rather than going on the island? Because our captains stop the boat at a perfect distance, with photography in mind. If you’re on Liberty Island you’re looking up at her and she seems distorted by the steep viewing angle. From Manhattan she’s too far away to get a good view. Our captains position our boats for a few minutes just outside the security zone and make sure everyone aboard has the opportunity to get great photos. She faces south-east and the best lighting on her face is before 1pm. In the afternoon she’s backlit by the sun, making for great silhouette pictures. From the Statue we’ll then head towards Ellis Island retracing the route the immigrants took arriving America from Europe.
The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France and opened in 1886 to the public. She was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, and is clad in copper. Her torch reaches 305 feet into the sky and the tablet in her left hand reads the date of the signing of America’s Declaration of Independence. Seven spikes on her crown represent the seven seas and seven continents. Gustave Eiffel - the same guy who built some tower in Paris - designed the interior steel structure and she was shipped to America in many crates and assembled on site. The copper comes from a Norwegian mine, located in the town of Visnes in the southern part of Norway. We didn’t know this until we had passengers from that town aboard who told us about it and we thought that was a pretty cool so and we’ve added it to our narration. The pedestal, which she stands on, was funded by an early crowdsourcing initiative and is the same height as the statue itself.
The Statue of Liberty sure is a bucket-list item. If you like to go onto the island and inside her, you must take the large white ferries operated by Statue Cruises, that depart Battery Park on the very southern point of Manhattan. You should allow at least six hours for a visit. First you must go through airport-style security screening, then wait with hundreds of people in lines to board the ferries to the island, and again on the return trip. We keep hearing from our passengers that they much prefer viewing her from our boats as part of our tour, and have received many holiday cards from past passengers, stating it was the highlight of their trip to New York.
Check out our Photo Gallery of pictures we’ve taken of Lady Liberty, under brilliant sunsets and moon rises. And we hope to welcome you and your friends and family aboard!
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Seal Watching
Did you know that each winter we offer ‘Wildlife & Photography Field-trips’?
These excursions are for small groups or individuals and perfect for photographers!
When the water gets cold, many seals show up in our area and we’ve been photo documenting them for the past ten years. New York Media Boat has been taking out nature photographers, seal lovers, and scientists to watch these marine mammals.
A few years ago we teamed up with the Center for the Study of Pinniped Ecology & Cognition (C-SPEC) who’s researchers count total numbers, identify species and observe their behavior.
While we usually have the researchers aboard on our field-trips, providing narration to our passengers, we had to adjust this winter’s research due to the pandemic. Instead we installed a stabilized camera-rig on the back of the boat with a telephoto lens and record video clips to be analyzed afterwards.
Though the researchers are not aboard this year, we’re still running the tours to shoot video and are offering a few spots on each excursion for anyone who’d like to come along and observe the seals - and birds - in their natural habitat.
Email us at tours@NYmediaBoat.com if you’re interested in joining a trip.
Coolest Research Vessel Ever!?
If you grew up watching Cousteau’s adventures aboard the Calypso and James Cameron’s 1989 Sci-fi film The Abyss, you’ll LOVE this ship and the OceanX project!
OceanXplorer claims to be the most advanced exploration, research, and media vessel ever built. Equipped with helicopter, two Tritan submersibles, ROVs, and AUVs the crew can explore depths of up 6000 meters (3.7 miles) and capture the abyss with their advanced underwater camera systems. Onboard marine science labs, and Hollywood-level production capabilities allow a next level of nature cinematography. Their motto is 'To explore the ocean and bring it back to the world'.
The ship is currently visiting New York and we photographed her during the stay.
Interestingly her AIS system is broadcasting the message: “Ships and aircraft of States not parties to an armed conflict”.
Check out The Yacht Channel’s YouTube video describing her refit and includes video clips of the science labs, video editing bays, and submersibles.
Shipping Cargo by Sail
Just like the old days… goods being moved by sailboat. Grain de Sail is a modern cargo vessel powered by wind that is able to cross oceans.
It took the custom built ‘Grain de Sail’ 28 days to deliver her cargo from Saint-Malo, France to the Port of New York. The 80-foot two-masted boat was designed to cross the North Atlantic under sail in an initiative to minimize the environmental impact of shipping the company’s goods: wine, coffee and cocoa.
Stashed below deck in a climate controlled hold are 18,000 bottles of wine.
This photo shows a crew member unbolting the hatch cover to the cargo hold.
The hatch was carefully hoisted off the boat using the halyard, allowing access to the hold.
Deck officer Goulwen Josse directs the discharge operation.
The first case of ‘2018 Nuits-Saint-Georges’ wine is brought ashore and stacked on a palette by longshoremen.
The company expects to make two trans-Atlantic deliveries per year.
The ‘Grain du Sail’ boat will be docked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for about a week before starting her return trip. You can visit the boat and by reserving a time slot (free).
Whale in New York Harbor
There's a humpback whale cruising around New York Harbor, and photojournalist Bjoern Kils of New York Media Boat tracked and photographed it. Reuters has picked up our photos and story and you can order your prints here: www.nymediaboat.photoshelter.com
The whale was playful, slapping its fluke swimming past the Statue of Liberty, as Capt. Bjoern snapped away -- while keeping a safe and respectful distance.
This is not the same whale that we photographed in the Hudson River in 2016. Each whale has unique markings/scars on their fluke, back and dorsal fin. A comparison of images has concluded that these are two different animals.
It was a nice moment in an otherwise tough year. The New York Media Boat team has high hopes for summer 2021, and we hope you’ll come aboard for a tour!
Checkmate, Duffy & Tayana
Matt O’Hara throttled his boat with authority, blasting past the New York City skyline. Calm winds and a long ocean swell made for good conditions to grab some action shots of our friend’s 28-foot Checkmate Powerboat catching air. The 1994 Checkmate Convincor is powered by twin Mercruiser engines delivering 770HP.
The plan was to take aerial photos of the dredging operation in Sandy Hook Channel, but we postponed the shoot when clouds moved in.
Instead we launched a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone and took some photos of our Duffy 35 cruising past Roamer Shoal Lighthouse. From this angle you can nicely see the waves breaking over the shallows just past the light!
On the return, we met up with Captain Eric Puleio of Narwhal Yacht Charters sailing on his Tayana 37. The ‘Genesis’ looked great under her three maroon sails and beautiful brightwork! If you haven’t booked a charter with them we can highly recommend it.
Reopening After the COVID-19 Shutdown
[Updated: 06/05/20] The New York Media Boat team is excited that New York Governor Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Murphy allows ‘For-Hire’ vessels to start operating again on June 8th! We will be running tours for single groups, and full compliance with Covid-19 precautions is in effect.
In order to limit potential exposure to our crew and passengers, we are currently only taking single-party bookings. That means every tour will be a private charter at our temporary special rate structure [subject to change at any time]. Call us to check for availability and to make your booking!
Private Charter up to 4 passengers: $480
Private Charter up to 6 passengers: $600
Private Charter up to 9 passengers: $950
IMPORTANT:
When at the dock, we ask that you stay 6-feet apart from other people at all times.
Your captain will give instructions on the boarding procedure.
All high-touch areas on the boats are sanitized before and after each charter.
We have disinfectant hand-wipes available for your use and encourage everyone to use them.
You must bring your own jacket. We are not allowed to provide any equipment.
NEWS RELEASE
TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy today signed Executive Order No. 146, which allows charter fishing services and for-hire vessel activities, as well as watercraft rental businesses, to open with required social distancing measures. These businesses can open on Sunday, May 17 at 6 am.
“Reopening charter fishing services and watercraft rental businesses restores an extremely important component of our Shore economy.” said Governor Murphy. “The social distancing measures that we are putting in place will ensure that these businesses can sustain themselves while still adhering to public health guidance.”
Charter fishing services and for-hire vessels will be allowed to reopen to the public so long as they adopt policies that include:
reduced capacity to no more than 10 people on a vessel at any one time;
electronic or telephone reservation and payment systems;
no make-up or open boat trips;
social distancing measures on the vessels and in waiting and boarding areas, including demarcation and signage;
prohibiting sharing of fishing equipment, bait, and gear;
limiting the use of nets or gaffs to the crew;
infection control and hygiene practices;
providing sanitization materials to passengers and crew;
frequent sanitization of vessel and high-touch areas;
The crew and passengers must wear a mask while aboard the vessel;
prohibiting food and beverage service; and
briefing all passengers prior to embarking on social distancing, capacity limits, and hygiene requirements.
Watercraft rental businesses will be allowed to reopen so long as they adopt policies consistent with the “curb-side pickup” restrictions that apply to retail establishments pursuant to Executive Order No. 142.
Hospital Ship Responds to NYC COVID-19 Crisis
Photos of the NAVY Hospital Ship USNS COMFORT arriving New York City. The ship is set up with 1,000 hospital beds, 12 operating rooms and medical staff to add capacity to the already stressed New York City hospitals.
THANK YOU to all healthcare workers who are on the front lines in this fight!
For photo usage rights contact New York Media Boat at +1 732-586-7394 or email photo@nymediaboat.com.
USNS COMFORT approaches New York escorted by U.S. Coast Guard cutters.
USNS COMFORT flies the New York State flag as she sails into the Harbor
U.S. Coast Guard enforcing a federal vessel 500-yard security zone.
The USNS COMFORT steaming through The Narrows and under the Verrazano Bridge towards Manhattan.
Sandy Hook Pilot Captain Tim Ferrie navigates the USNS COMFORT into New York Harbor.
NYPD vessels and the Air-Sea-Rescue helicopter escorting the USNS COMFORT.
Sailors aboard the hospital ship USNS COMFORT.
McAllister tugs are ready to push the USNS COMFORT into her berth at Pier 90.
New Yorkers welcome the USNS COMFORT along the Hudson River.
The USNS COMFORT steams past the Statue of Liberty to aid New York City.
The USNS COMFORT sails past Downtown Manhattan.
A USCG Air Station Cape Cod helicopter monitors from above the USNS COMFORT.
The USNS COMFORT dwarfs West 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan.
U.S. Coast Guard ensures safe passage for the USNS COMFORT as she approaches Pier 90.
Captain Jason Tama commands all Coast Guard missions in the Port of New York and New Jersey.
The hospital ship USNS COMFORT docked at Pier 90 in Midtown Manhattan.
Thank You for Booking Direct!
We truly appreciate our passengers who book directly with us on our website!
It means a lot to us, as we won’t have to pay high commission fees to third party booking companies and instead it directly supports our operation and families.
Booking directly also guarantees you the best price and best customer service! For example, in case of inclement weather we do our absolute best to contact you as quickly as possible to see if you’d like to rebook to a different time or day. Most third party booking companies consider you their customer and in order to reach you, any message has to be relayed through them, which always delays the process.
You can always reach us at +1 347-789-0588 if you have any questions; or email tours@nymediaboat.com.
Thank you again and we hope to welcome you aboard!
-the NYMB Crew
Greta Thunberg in New York
After two weeks at sea, Greta Thunberg arrived in America. Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia sailed Greta across the North Atlantic - from Plymouth to New York. Thunberg is determined to tell U.S. policy makers a thing or two about climate change at the United Nations in Manhattan.
Greta Thunberg in New York at the Statue of Liberty aboard Malizia II
Thunberg sailed aboard Malizia II, an IMOCA class racing yacht, in order to minimize her own carbon footprint and not taking a plane.
Greta Thunberg at the Statue of Liberty in New York
Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia offered Thunberg the ride after hearing her speak to a group of school children and expressing interest in delivering her message to North and South America.
Greta Thunberg at the Statue of Liberty sailing towards her destination: Manhattan.
Greta Thunberg at the bow of Malizia II
‘Unite Behind The Science’ is a message Team Malizia is promoting. They outfitted the sailboat with CO2 sensors and are collecting ocean data on all their voyages.
‘Unite Behind The Science’ and ‘A Race We Must Win’ are clear messages in Malizia’s sails
The United Nations arranged a sailboat flotilla to welcome Greta with colorful sails.
Approaching Manhattan Thunberg waves to passengers aboard the Staten Island Ferry.
Greta Thunberg greets passengers aboard the Staten Island Ferry as she approaches Manhattan.
Greta Thunberg - Destination: Manhattan
Greta Thunberg’s father Svante accompanied her on the trip. Skipper Boris Herrmann in the background.
Boris Herrmann and Greta Thunberg were welcomed by thousands of fans and journalist from all over the world at North Cove Marina in downtown Manhattan.
Boris Herrmann and Greta Thunberg exit the press conference
Greta Thunberg Sails to New York
photo: ©Anders Hellberg
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is traveling to New York by sailboat to speak at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in September.
The 16-year old Thunberg and her father are being ferried across the North Atlantic by professional offshore sailor Boris Herrmann and his teammate Pierre Casiraghi aboard Malizia II — a foiling IMOCA 60 racing sailboat.
Sailing, she says, will limit her carbon footprint.
Thunberg started a school strike every Friday in front of the Swedish parliament to send a clear message to politicians, and says the strikes will continue until Sweden is in alignment with the Paris Climate Accord.She has inspired kids in many countries to follow suit. Social hashtags are #FridaysForFuture and #SS4C.
Team Malizia is collaborating with the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Munich, and the Geomar Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany. They have outfitted the boat with CO2 sensors and are collecting ocean data on all of their voyages.
A Unique Perspective on The Vessel at Hudson Yards
What is The Vessel?
The Vessel is New York’s newest icon. Designed by Thomas Heatherwick and Heatherwick Studio, the 16-story inhabitable sculpture has more than 2,500 steps and 80 individual landings. It’s an M.C. Escher drawing brought to life. The conical framework of intertwining staircases creates a seemingly infinite variety of paths to explore and vantage points for seeing the city.
How Can I See The Vessel?
There is no charge to visit Hudson Yards and explore this mega-development on your own. You do need tickets to climb The Vessel and the tickets are (currently) free. With Free Tickets, The Vessel has become very popular and there is frequently a wait as long as two weeks to make a booking.
So how can you see The Vessel on your next trip to New York? One of the most interesting perspectives is from the water. Hudson Yards takes its name from the Hudson River which sits directly next to this amazing new neighborhood. Every New York Media Boat tour stops on the river for a spectacular view of the entire complex, with the bronze, lattice-work Vessel proudly on display at the center.
When is the Best Time to See The Vessel?
Well, since The Vessel has only been open less than a year, no one can tell you the best time of year. As you may have noticed in the photos, The Vessel is covered in highly reflective copper. It seems to shimmer in the light. When viewing The Vessel from the water in the late afternoon, the sun reflects off the different facets and the effect is magnificent, as if the structure were made of liquid fire. Combined with the glass skyscrapers and The Highline in the foreground, it truly seems like The Vessel is something straight out of Oz.
Click below to book a spot on our tour and view our new stop at The Vessel!
What Happens to Old Undersea Cables?
Subsea Environmental Services removes old telecom cables from the ocean floor and recycles the materials.
Surely many of them are just left in place, but if Subsea Environmental Services (SES) gets involved, they’re picked up and recycled. Their ship, the Rebecca, is currently at anchor in New York Harbor.
SES specializes in the recovery of out-of-service submarine telecommunications cables. Since most global data and voice traffic runs through trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific cables, the infrastructure keeps improving and copper cables are replaced by faster fiber optic lines. According to Hibernia Cable, the 2012 generation of cables has a trans-Atlantic latency of under 60 milliseconds.
The Rebecca picks up the old cable over a roller on the modified bow and coils it in the cargo holds below deck.
SES is a private company and says it has removed around 10,000 miles of cable from the ocean floor to date. The cables consist of high-quality materials such as plastics and metal, which can get recycled and reintroduced into the manufacturing process.
Their website shows completed projects in the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean. We don’t know where their next job will be but we’ll be following on AIS.
Happy Birthday America!
For the 4th of July we took the American Flag as our VIP passenger for a tour through the harbor and past the Statue of Liberty and Freedom Tower. Happy Independence Day everyone!
Great Whites and Good Morning America
When a great white shark was pinged by OCEARCH off the coast of Greenwich, Connecticut, in the Long Island Sound on Tuesday, dozens of news outlets jumped on the story.
ABC News jumped on our boat!
We picked up Gio Benitez and the news crew from Good Morning America at 4:30 am on Tuesday and did a live shot from off the coast of Port Washington.
They loved it so much we did another hit for World News Tonight with David Muir — and then another on Wednesday morning for GMA again! This time, we anchored off Rockaway and Captain Eric ran a second boat for the drone team.
Of course, both of our media boats made a cameo during the live shot. You can watch the full video here!
What better story to kick off Memorial Day weekend than a piece about shark attacks on the beach?!
More on New York City Seals
“New York is like their Miami resort.”
That’s what one park ranger told ‘Sidewalk Naturalist’ columnist Leonora Todaro about why seals hang out in New York in the winter.
Read more about our work with the Center for the Study of Pinniped Ecology and Cognition in Todaro’s piece in Catapult Magazine.
Sea Shepherd’s NY Mission: TriBeCa Film Festival
Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson and his high-speed intercepter ship the MV Brigitte Bardot arrived in New York City for the the TriBeCa Film Festival premier of WATSON.
The Brigitte Bardot (formerly Gojira) is currently docked at North Cove Marina and while in town, her crew members educate the public on their mission to protect marine life and preserve the ocean for future generations.
The boat has a very distinct look: Some call her a trimaran, others a stabilized monohull. You may recognize her from Animal Planet’s show ‘Whale Wars’ where she replaced the Ady Gil after it was sunk by a Japanese whaling ship.
Built in England in 1998, she was designed to circumnavigate the globe in less than 80 days — and she did it in 74. Sea Shepherd acquired her in 2010 and deploys her as an intercepter vessel to search for illegal fishing operations. Re-powered with twin 500HP Cummins diesel engine, her range is around 2,000 nautical miles and the cruising speed is 14 knots.
Capt. Mark invited us aboard for a tour of his ship.
The documentary details Watson's four-decade crusade to stop illegal fishing around the world. It's directed by Lesley Chilcott, who produced An Inconvenient Truth.
Brigitte Bardot's New York City visit is just a stopover between two missions: fighting illegal shark fishing around the Galapagos Islands as part of Operation Mamacocha, and combatting illegal whaling in Iceland.
