Our New Vessel

Informational Posters

Download our informational posters on the new vessel here (you will need Adobe Reader to view these files).

New Vessel Status - April 2011 (pdf)

New Vessel vs. Aucocisco (pdf)

Casco Bay Lines' New Vessel Has a Name

With help from the four island schools, Casco Bay Lines’ Board of Directors has voted to name the new vessel the Wabanaki.

At its Board meeting on Thursday, June 23, 2011, the CBL Board of Directors considered recommendations from the New Boat Advisory Committee on vessel naming suggestions.

Earlier this spring the New Boat Advisory Committee received support from the CBL Board to involve elementary aged students from the island schools in developing a list of potential names for the new boat. Sue Hemond, a member of the New Boat Advisory Committee, stated, “We received great cooperation from each of the schools and given the relatively short deadline, we were really impressed by the thoughtful response from the students.”

The committee received suggestions from each of the island schools, which included Peaks Island, Long Island, Chebeague Island, and Cliff Island. Paula Johnson from the Long Island school stated that “The children really enjoyed working this project into our curriculum. These children will be using the boat for years and being able to have input to her name made it a special project." Over 70 names were submitted during the process. The committee met to discuss the names and ultimately submitted six for the CBL Board to consider.

After considerable discussion, the CBL Board of Directors voted on the name Wabanaki. According to Wikipedia, Wabanaki is an area referred to as the "dawn land" by many Algonquian-speaking peoples to describe the Eastern region of the North American continent, generally described as being New England in the United States, plus Quebec and the Maritimes in Canada.

Construction of the Wabanaki is the result of funding that was secured through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of the Federal Government. This was a “shovel ready” project based on plans developed for the Aucocisco III, which was delivered in 2005, with some design modifications. The new vessel is being built by Blount Marine of Warren, RI and is expected to be delivered in spring of 2012.

The Wabanaki will be a positive addition to the current fleet and will replace the aging Island Romance that will be retired after the new boat arrives.

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Ferry Terminal: 56 Commercial Street, Portland, Maine | Mailing Address:P.O. Box 4656, Portland, ME 04112-4656
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