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A brand new $85 million Staten Island Ferry caught fire in New York harbor with the close to 900 aboard scrambling for life jackets as the vessel’s cabin filled with smoke.

The fire started in the ferry’s engine room at around five o’clock Thursday afternoon as it headed from Lower Manhattan to Staten Island.

The ferry was temporarily anchored while passengers were offloaded and safely transported onto separate tugboats.

Passengers were brought to St. George Ferry Terminal along with the ferry closely following behind.

A brand new $85 million Staten Island Ferry caught fire in New York harbor with the close to 900 aboard scrambling for life jackets

The ferry was temporarily anchored while passengers were offloaded and safely transported onto separate tugboats

A brand new $85 million Staten Island Ferry caught fire in New York harbor with the close to 900 aboard scrambling for life jackets

The fire started in the ferry's engine room at around five o'clock Thursday afternoon as it headed from Lower Manhattan to Staten Island

The fire started in the ferry’s engine room at around five o’clock Thursday afternoon as it headed from Lower Manhattan to Staten Island

Five people suffered minor injuries, three of whom were taken to a local hospital.

The New York Fire Department said that there had been 868 passengers and 16 crew members on board at the time.

First responders rushed to the burning boat, which had been anchored in the harbor just off the pier as firefighters fought the blaze. They contained the fire to the engine room.

The FDNY is monitoring the temperatures of the vessel’s engine room over the next 24 hours to determine when it is safe to enter.

A video shot by a passenger shows a few people scrambling to get life jackets in a smoke-filled cabin on the vessel.

However, subsequent footage shows passengers remained calm as they were evacuated from the burning boat.

Sal Chatman Morando, a Staten Island resident and Manhattan doorman, told the New York Post that a man had started screaming that there was ‘heavy, heavy’ smoke coming from the bottom of the boat.

‘I thought he was crazy, I thought there’s no way,’ Morando recounted.

Morando was stuck on the boat for nearly two hours, he said, until it was pushed to Staten Island.

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When the ferry approached the terminal, the remaining passengers were asked to sit on the ground and brace for impact.

Rescue teams were reportedly battering very low visibility and are relying on off radar to reach the ferry, which sources said is a brand new $85 million vessel, the outlet reported.

Rescue teams were reportedly battering very low visibility and are relying on off radar to reach the ferry

Earlier videos showed the cabin of the boat filled with smoke

Rescue teams were reportedly battering very low visibility and are relying on off radar to reach the ferry. Earlier videos showed the cabin of the boat filled with smoke

Passengers were brought to St. George Ferry Terminal along with the ferry closely following behind

Passengers were brought to St. George Ferry Terminal along with the ferry closely following behind

Elizabeth Quinn, a resident of Manhattan, was on her way to visit her family on Staten Island for the holidays when chaos broke out.

Quinn told silive that she had her headphones on but that she could hear a beeping going off right before the incident.

‘But the fire alarms weren’t going off, and we were still moving,’ she said.

‘I started to text my friends and I was like, I think something’s wrong with the boat, but I was kind of like joking around about it.

‘Then the ferry [employees] started like talking on their walkie-talkies, and I was like, wait, I think that this is kind of serious.’

Quinn said a Department of Transport employee soon appeared and began to rouse passengers.

‘[They said], ‘Everyone to the front of the boat, grab a lifejacket.’ They started throwing lifejackets at us, no one has any idea what’s going on, and all of a sudden, the lights go out.

‘It was absolutely insane,’ added Quinn, who was initially seated on the lower-level deck. ‘There were people screaming that the ferry was gonna explode.’

The New York Fire Department said that there had been 868 passengers and 16 crew members on board at the time

The New York Fire Department said that there had been 868 passengers and 16 crew members on board at the time

Quinn said passengers were initially chaotic, then briefly calm.

‘But then once we all started to see the smoke, I think it got worse.’

She admitted the mayhem made her think about another possible scenario.

‘I thought that it was like a shooting of some kind, because when you hear those alarms, that’s like the first place that your head goes to,’ she said.

‘There were people around me saying that the ferry was gonna explode, so I thought maybe there was a bomb. I [wasn’t] thinking [it was a] fire. Like, fire was the last thing on my mind.

‘It was so scary. I can’t even put it into words right now. I’m still shaking.’

St. George resident Sydney George and her boyfriend were on their way back to Staten Island from a doctor’s appointment in Brooklyn and told the outlet people were shaken.

‘People started panicking, they were shaken up and having anxiety attacks, and you could smell the smoke.’

George said the smoke was most prevalent on the Brooklyn-facing side of the ferry.

‘I felt scared,’ admitted George, who said her mind went to her young daughter.

The safety of passengers was the most important priority for first responders who helped to get them safely to shore

The safety of passengers was the most important priority for first responders who helped to get them safely to shore

Images from the scene showed a number of emergency personnel on standby

Images from the scene showed a number of emergency personnel on standby

Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (MEBA) union representing the Staten Island Ferry crew released a statement: 'Today's Staten Island Ferry fire is very alarming'

Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA) union representing the Staten Island Ferry crew released a statement: ‘Today’s Staten Island Ferry fire is very alarming’

Ivan McCall, a passenger on the boat from the Silver Lake area, said there was so much smoke at one point ‘you couldn’t even see your hands.’

‘The boat was driving, everything was smooth, and then a loud beeping started happening,’ he said.

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‘We all knew something was wrong, and then the police started scrambling around.

‘They start throwing life jackets,’ he continued. ‘And everyone starts panicking. A bunch of women were crying, it was nuts man.’

McCall was on the lower level, but said it was when passengers put on life vests and then were directed upstairs that the smoke poured in.

‘The ferry crew and the police, they handled things very well,’ McCall said. ‘They tried not to make anyone panic.’

He said there was a large drop, possibly up to four feet, that evacuating passengers had to navigate as they moved from the ferry to the rescue tugboat.

Shortly after the incident, Roland Rexha of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA) union representing the Staten Island Ferry crew released a statement: ‘Today’s Staten Island Ferry fire is very alarming.’

‘We have been deeply concerned about the safety of our passengers and crew as the new Ollis vessels have had serious issues and the DOT failed to train our members on the new fleet.

‘Our dedicated and experienced mariners are working long, tireless hours to maintain our service. Ferry safety is our greatest responsibility.’

MEBA has been fighting the city for 12 years for a ‘fair and respectful’ new contract, with workers not having received a single wage increase since 2010.

Union officials claim that the lack of a new contract and existing low wages have made it difficult for the city to recruit and retain talent during the national maritime workers shortage.

The Ollis ferry class referenced by Rexha encompasses three new vessels: the Staff Sergeant Michael H. Ollis ship, which took its inaugural ride in June, the Sandy Ground, and the Dorothy Day, the newest and final boat of the trio. The Dorothy Day joined the fleet in November.

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