Port Jefferson's newest ferry, The Long Island, arrives from Florida after navigating through storms 

The Bridgeport and Port Jefferson ferry’s newest vessel, The Long Island, docked in the Suffolk village on Sunday afternoon after a five-day journey through treacherous storms in North Carolina.

Frederick Hall, vice president and manager of the Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Steamboat Company, said The Long Island joins the company as the fourth boat in the fleet, the first addition in more than 20 years.

"There are a lot of people doing a lot of work to make this ready to sail with customers," Hall said.

The Long Island will provide service when any of the fleet's older vessels — the P.T. Barnum, Grand Republic, and Park City — must undergo maintenance. It will also be used in the event of emergencies and as a standby option, among other purposes.

The Long Island was designed based off the other ferry boats with upgraded details, Hall said. Like its counterparts, the boat can hold 1,000 passengers and 120 vehicles. The main cabin features rows of individual seats near the windows, while in the middle, there are tables for two and four sets of people, as well as counter seating with outlets. Each seat also has two USBC outlets. Like the other boats, food and beverages are available for purchase. It has a cabin for pets. Hall declined to say what the vessel cost. 

Captains Mark Soderstrom and Paul Peterson led a crew of 10 from Florida to Long Island, making two refueling stops near Fort Lauderdale and another in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Soderstrom said that as they approached Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, a place that is notorious for bad weather, reports said winds would be 25 to 35 knots. But when they reached the storm, the crew faced winds of 45 to 60 knots and waves up to 15 feet high.

"We won't be running with passengers in those conditions on our route, but the vessel can handle a lot of those conditions," he said.

Soderstrom has helped bring three of the four vessels from Florida to Long Island. In 1999, he captained the 300-foot P.T. Barnum, named for the circus showman and a company co-founder, and then the Grand Republic in 2003.

He and Peterson, who both live on Long Island, flew to Florida this fall and stayed to oversee the finish of construction by Eastern Shipbuilding Group and to participate in drills. The boat was constructed in Panama City and Port St. Joe.

The Long Island's new owners had initially hoped the vessel would be operable by fall, but hurricanes Milton and Helene each shut the shipyard for about four or five days when they hit Florida last fall, Hall said. Delivery of the vessel's engines also took longer than expected.  

Before it officially enters the fleet, The Long Island must undergo final inspections by the United States Coast Guard. Hall said that if everything goes smoothly, it could be in operation in about a week.

"We're working as hard as we can to get this boat underway," he said.

With Nicholas Spangler