Immediately following the initial attacks on the World Trade Center, tunnels were closed, and traffic fleeing Manhattan via bridges reached a standstill.

Many civilians, especially in those neighborhoods closest to the attacks, were desperate to escape the island but had no way to do so.

Luckily, their salvation came like lightning. A coast guard transmission went out. “All available boats,” it said. “This is the United States Coast Guard… Anyone wanting to help with the evacuation of Lower Manhattan report to Governors Island.”

Within minutes, around 150 private ships of all shapes, sizes, and purposes reported for duty and got to work. These heroic captains transported around 500,000 people away from the disaster zone.

This came to be known as the 9/11 Boat Lift, which to this day, is the largest water evacuation in history.