The Bimini Superfast ferry is ready to set sail after receiving its Initial Certificate of Compliance by the U.S. Coast Guard on Monday.
The 1,346-passenger ship will now be able to transport people from Miami to the Bimini Islands in the Bahamas.
It needed to meet the U.S. Coast Guard's criteria before transporting passengers to and from the United States.
The ferry was first inspected by the Coast Guard in June to test fire detection systems, engineering systems, emergency lighting, navigational safety and security.
After its initial findings, the Coast Guard found some issues had to be corrected, which included providing proper operation of the emergency source of power, providing proper operation of the life boat release mechanisms and demonstration of the crew's response to an emergency situation.
Since then, the issues have been resolved.
“The Coast Guard is always involved in inspecting cruise ships and commercial vessels that call in U.S. ports to ensure compliance with safety standards,” Cmdr. Janet Espino-Young, chief of inspections at Coast Guard Sector Miami, said in an email statement. “It is important to note these discrepancies were discovered during our initial inspections prior to the ferry embarking any passengers and we worked thoroughly with the owners of the ferry to bring them up to the standard to safely embark passengers in the United States.”
The multimillion dollar ferry will have its first passage at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The journey takes about two and a half hours and costs about $50.
“We are pleased to work with the US Coast Guard to bring Bimini SuperFast to first class safety standards and appreciate their rigorous examination of the ship,” Dana Leibovitz, President of Resorts World Bimini, said in an email statement.“After buying this modern German built cruise ship for $70 million, we spent a further $30 million to bring her to the highest safety standards.”
Photo Credit: NBC 6 South Florida