NYC Ferry And Billion Oyster Project Launch Floating Classroom For 10,000 Students Annually On New York Harbor

A new partnership will turn NYC Ferry vessels into floating classrooms in the New York Harbor. Announced at the DUMBO Ferry Dock in Brooklyn Bridge Park by Billion Oyster Project, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, NYC Ferry, and operator Hornblower Group, the Floating Classroom program aims to bring more than 10,000 public school students onto the harbor each year. Under the agreement, Billion Oyster Project will serve as the Marine Restoration and Education Partner of NYC Ferry, a first for the system.

The Floating Classroom is slated to launch during the 2026–2027 school year, according to the partners.

The program will convert existing NYC Ferry vessels into science classrooms during off-peak weekday hours. Led by Billion Oyster Project educators, the 90-minute voyages will run toward Governors Island and cover marine ecology, oyster restoration, climate resilience, and the industries of the working waterfront. The Floating Classroom will operate on school days from Labor Day through Memorial Day, with up to two voyages per day and capacity for approximately 300 students and teachers daily, according to the announcement.

The initiative extends an education operation that Billion Oyster Project has built over more than a decade on Governors Island. The program also formalizes an existing pipeline to maritime employment. Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, a public high school on Governors Island and a Billion Oyster Project partner since the organization’s founding, trains students through its Vessel Operations program, and more than 50 graduates now work at NYC Ferry as captains and deckhands. Under NYC Ferry’s internship program, Vessel Operations interns train on board alongside ferry crews.

The program will put idle capacity to use on a system that spans six year-round routes, more than 25 landings, and a 38-vessel fleet. NYC Ferry’s winter schedule, which took effect November 2, reduces weekend and off-peak service while maintaining peak weekday frequency, leaving vessels available during school hours.

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