There was only one way on and off the island, and that was a bridge that went from the island to mainland. The question that was brought up was how to get 6,000 civilian workers and thousands of prisoners off the island in case of an emergency if the bridge was disabled. The answer was a ferry. This is where White Marine comes into play. A specification was written and sent out for bid to design and build an Emergency Ferry Float to accommodate a ferry large enough to transport approximately 400 people off the island. Spearin, Preston, & Burrows, a construction company based in Staten Island, N.Y., won the bid and sub-contracted White Marine to fabricate a float. A preliminary drawing was issued and the project was under way.

At this time we changed certain parts of the drawing, such the support frames on the hull and bottom and added a hatch. The plans were submitted and came back approved. At this point material was ordered and fabrication was started. The float was twenty foot square by ten foot high. It had approximately a four-foot draft when in water.

After all the welding was accomplished, the entire float, inside and out was sand blasted and painted by our paint contractor. The project went well and the float was delivered on time. We transported the float by flat bed trailer to a near by bulkhead where a 250 ton floating crane lifted it onto a barge which transported it to the site. At this point minor adjustments were made to accommodate the aluminum gangways and the job was completed.