The Great Boat Lift

25TH ANNIVERSARY

Honoring the history of the largest-ever maritime rescue in which half a million people were evacuated from Manhattan by boat during the September 11 terrorist attacks.

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At 8:46 am, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into World Trade Center.

Within minutes, NY Waterway ferries diverted from their regular routes to provide emergency transport from the WTC, becoming waterborne ambulances for the injured. The maritime evacuation started spontaneously, even before many understood the plane crash was not an accident, and hours before the U.S. Coast Guard called for “all available boats.”

In an entirely unplanned effort, ferries, dinner boats, tugs, and other vessels converged along Manhattan's shores, evacuating those stranded when the bridges and tunnels shut down.

Over the course of nine hours, some 800 mariners aboard more than 150 vessels returned, over and over, to an island on fire without knowing the full measure of its dangers.

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TIMELINE

  • 8:46:40 A.M. — American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into 1 World Trade Center (the North Tower)
  • 8:47 — MTA subway operator alerts MTA Subway Control Center of an explosion in the WTC and begins emergency procedures
  • 8:52 — PATH trains begin emergency procedures; they proceed to evacuate WTC station and return Manhattan-bound trains to New Jersey
  • 9:02:59 — United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into 2 World Trade Center (the South Tower)
  • 9:10 — U.S. Coast Guard closes Port of New York and New Jersey and the Port Authority of NY and NJ closes all its bridges and tunnels
  • 9:17 — FAA shuts down all NYC airports
  • 9:37:45 — American Airlines Flight 77 hits the west wall of the Pentagon
  • 9:58:59 — South Tower collapses
  • 10:03:11 — United Airlines Flight 93 crashes in Pennsylvania
  • 10:20 — NYC Transit suspends all subway service
  • 10:28:22 — North Tower collapses
  • 10:30 — NJ Transit stops rail service into Manhattan’s Penn Station
  • 10:45 — U.S. Coast Guard calls for “all available boats” to assist in evacuation of Lower Manhattan; PATH operations suspended
  • 11:02 — Mayor Giuliani calls for evacuation south of Canal Street
  • 5:20 P.M. — 7 World Trade Center, headquarters of NYC Office of Emergency Management, collapses

Download Timeline | Download Fact Sheet

“No one has told this incredible story better than Jessica DuLong.”

— Kenneth T. Jackson

ABOUT THE BOOK
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CALLING ALL STORIES

Help Preserve the History of America’s Greatest Maritime Rescue

Were you, or someone you love, among the 500,000 evacuated?

Did you serve as crew that day?

The Calling All Stories Initiative invites boat captains, crew members, and survivors of the boat lift to share their stories.

Learn More

Our mission is to preserve firsthand accounts of mariners’ selfless acts so that future generations know about the courage, professionalism, resourcefulness, and humanity they brought to bear that day. We seek to honor the mariners who stepped up to help others, despite dangers both known and unknown.

A partnership of the 9/11 Legacy Foundation and independent historian Jessica DuLong, author of Saved at the Seawall and chief engineer, emerita, of fireboat John J. Harvey

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Stories

Official Trailer: “Boatlift 9/11” starring Sofia Helin, Hank Northrop, and Preslea Elliott set to release September 11, 2026. More here

Michael Gier's new documentary, THE HEROISM AND RESILIENCY OF 9/11: From Tragedy to Triumph. Narrated by Gary Sinise. Details here.

“NYC Epicenters 9/11 -> 2021½” – Spike Lee documentary on HBO

“The Day Half a Million People Were Rescued By Boat” | I Was There – Vice

Resources

MUSEUMS

AUDIO

VIDEO

Museums // Exhibits

Audio // Oral Histories

  • Marine radio transmissions from September 11 released by the Coast Guard that begin with the initial call reporting an explosion at the World Trade Center from the sailing yacht Ventura and continue (in four parts) to documenting the waterborne evacuation.
    Links to audio files:  1, 2, 3, 4
    Transcription of part 1, part 2
  • “Harbor Voices from 9/11” – produced by David Tarnow – Transom.org
    • Related Audio Documentary: “All Available Boats: Harbor Voices from 9/11” – WNPR Connecticut
  • 9/11/01 FDNY Manhattan Dispatch Audio – FULL

Film // TV // Video

  • “NYC Epicenters 9/11 -> 2021½” – Spike Lee documentary on HBO
  • “The Day Half a Million People Were Rescued By Boat” | I Was There – Vice – YouTube
  • “Boatlift, An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience” (Narrated by Tom Hanks) – YouTube
  • Unique, rare 9/11 material shot from the Hudson – YouTube
    • This unique material was shot for RTL Extra from the Chelsea Screamer, one of the boats that evacuated people from Manhattan to New Jersey.
  • “Rescue at Water’s Edge: The U.S. Merchant Marine Response to 9/11” – by MARAD – YouTube
  • “Pier 25 After the Fall” by Mike Mazzei – YouTube
    • dockbuilder, removing WTC rubble at the same Pier 25 where the PortSide NewYork exhibit was installed on the LILAC
  • “Fireboats of 9-11” – History Channel Video Production – YouTube
  • September 11: The heroes of the forgotten maritime rescue mission – BBC
  • 9/11 BOATLIFT: How the Merchant Marine Moved 500,000 people | What’s Going on With Shipping? – YouTube
  • The Great American Boatlift – Sunday Night in America – FOX News
  • The heroes of the forgotten 9/11 maritime evacuation – BBC
  • Honoring the Heroes of the Great Boat Lift Out of Manhattan on 9/11 – NBC
  • NYC boat procession honors 9/11 victims, commemorates largest water evacuation in history – ABC7NY
  • September 11 Photojournal – Hirovision
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