Under the leadership of Lt. Mike Day, local Coast Guard units marshalled a force of volunteer mariners to pick up survivors and carry them across the harbor to safety. When the local Coast Guard commander put out the call for “all available boats” to make their way to lower Manhattan to help rescue people stranded due to the closure of bridges and tunnels, the response was widespread and immediate. An armada of tugboats, ferries and other vessels quickly arrived on the scene and, in a collective undertaking of tremendous skill and grit, safely evacuated 500,000 people. It was the largest maritime evacuation in history, even exceeding the heroic achievement at Dunkirk in 1940. 

9/11: Remembering the Heroes of the Lower Manhattan Boatlift
Maritime Executive

The Coast Guard and American Maritime: A Vital Post-9/11 Partnership
Maritime Executive