Staten Island Ferries Dry Ice Blasting Project

The nine-ship fleet of the Staten Island Ferry carries 22 million passengers per year between St. George on Staten Island and Whitehall Street in lower Manhattan and is operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. This last three Staten Island Ferries were built by Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin.

Precision Iceblast Corporation provided surface preparation for coating surfaces on all the bulk heads, columns, beams, stairwells, and ceilings on all five levels of the ships. Precision Iceblast Corporation was able dry-ice blast around the windows and electrical running through the ship without causing any damage and generated no waste. The process included Precision Iceblast preparing surfaces during the night and then the ship builder would paint during the following day. Since the process we used is a completely dry process, there was no blast residue there was no need for the painters to wait for any surface to dry. They applied the coatings right away on the next shift.

Resources included high pressure air compressors, four ice blasting units, and eight skilled laborers. Minor scaffolding was erected in some higher areas. The project duration was one months per ship.