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Set sail on a voyage of discovery today!

Come aboard USS Constitution, “America’s Ship of State,” and meet the active duty sailors who are part of her legacy today. Then, go deeper into the Ship’s history at the USS Constitution Museum with interactive exhibits, hands-on programs, and a vast collection of artifacts that are fun for all ages. Conveniently located on the Freedom Trail, discover for yourself why the Ship and Museum are consistently voted a “must-see” attraction in Boston.

USS Constitution (the Ship) is owned by the United States Navy and operated separately from the Museum. Visit USS Constitution ’s website for more information on visiting the Ship.

Museum Hours Open Daily | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

The Museum is closed for Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day and has an early closure at 2:00 PM on December 24th.

Open Tuesday– Sunday | 10:00 am – 6:00 pm Closed Mondays

The Ship is also closed on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Visit USS  Constitution ’s website  for more information about visiting the Ship.

Museum Admission

The Museum has a suggested admission of:

$10 – $15 for Adults $5 – $10 for Children

Please help us keep our doors open for all by being as generous as possible.

The USS Constitution Museum is proud to offer several discounted or free admission programs to individuals, families, and groups. Visit our Ways to Save page to find out more.

Ship Admission

When the Ship is open, it is free to visit on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be aware that visitors must pass through a security inspection and show federal or state photo identification, such as a driver’s license or passport, before embarking on USS Constitution . Visitors under the age of 18 do not require a photo identification card.

Visitor Policies

The safety of our visitors and staff remains our top priority. We ask all visitors to:

• Wash or sanitize hands frequently.  Masks are available for interested patrons.
• Do not visit if they are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19.
• Do not eat or drink in the exhibits.
• Be respectful of fellow visitors, Museum Staff and Museum exhibits.

All visitors to USS Constitution are required to pass through a security screening and show federal or state photo identification, such as a driver’s license or passport. Visitors under the age of 18 do not require a photo identification card, but are required to go through the screening process. Similar to airport security, visitors will be asked to remove bulky articles of clothing such as jackets, all jewelry, watches, belts, and all bags, luggage, or backpacks to allow the item to be examined.

Museum Accessibility

The Museum is committed to accessibility for all visitors. The Museum’s two-floors of exhibits are physically accessible to walkers, wheelchairs, scooters, and strollers. Service animals are welcome, but must be under the control of the owner at all times.

A Communication Book and Social Narrative  are available for download to help visitors communicate their needs during a trip to the Museum.

Ship Accessibility

Maintained in its 1812-era configuration, access to USS Constitution is limited to visitors who can safely walk aboard the Ship’s top (spar) deck unassisted. Access to the below decks requires climbing and descending steep ladder-like steps. Wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, and strollers are not allowed on board and must be left on the pier while touring the ship.

Visitors with service animals are authorized to tour the top (spar) deck of the Ship. Though not required by law, proof of the service animal’s status as a verified service animal makes the security screening procedure more efficient. Service animals must be on a leash or harness and under control of the owner at all times.

Daily Programs

Go through the museum first that way by the time you step onto the ship you are in awe”, the ship itself is enough to come see, but the museum makes it spectacular.", the museum is fascinating; it makes us want to see the ship even more”, we have been to a lot of historical sites and museums and this is the most amazing place", the museum has things for all ages and all levels of interest. we can’t wait to come back”, helpful links.

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Boston National Historical Park 21 Second Ave Charlestown, MA 02129

617 242-5601

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Boston Harbor Tour

Call to order 617-951-2460

We offer historic sightseeing tours on the yacht Northern Lights . This is a classic boat that operates Boston Harbor excursions and sightseeing cruises. It is a Turn-of-the-Century inspired yacht so it is the most elegant power boat in Boston Massachusetts.

We have put together some unique Boston cruises for you to experience in the most elegant manner. Northern Lights was built with a beautiful mahogany bar and her varnish is maintained to complete your feeling of a Turn-of-the-Century vessel.  Comfortable seating is available all around the boat, as well as a full sun deck atop, all with un-obscured views! As a result our Boston Harbor sightseeing cruises & Boston boat tours are intimate and crowd free. Guests are welcome on the forward deck for their Boston harbor tour as well to soak in the sun. Above all, you will score some fantastic photographs of all the Boston Harbor sites from the water!

This stunning yacht is perfect for families, romantic dates or a group of friends.  Take in the sights of Boston MA for a sightseeing cruise that will keep you coming back for more! Most importantly, we know whether you join us for a day cruise or a classic sunset cruise you will not be disappointed. Jump aboard and cruise in elegance to view this famous skyline with us!

-->Boston Brunch Cruise aboard Northern Lights -->

Weekends are a time for relaxing and getting your days started the right way. Join us for a Mimosa and Bloody Mary Cruise aboard the elegant Northern Lights to jump start your relaxation mode on this Boston Brunch Cruise. While aboard choose from a variety of Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s. Enjoy our gourmet brunch buffet and select a cozy seat aboard Northern Lights as we cruise around Boston Harbor to capture panoramic views of Boston.  This is the perfect event for groups looking to entertain guests from out of town. You can see the sites without giving up a relaxing weekend. We can accommodate small bridal parties or even morning after wedding parties.  The Brunch Cruise offers the perfect event for the individual or the group looking to celebrate and relax.

-->Boston Sunset Cruise -->

Join us for an after work cruise to relax with friends and watch the sky as it changes from blues to oranges behind the outline of Boston’s city skyline. Experience a sunset cruise departing from bustling Rowes Wharf and head out to watch the sun go down over the city of Boston. Bring a date or meet a group of friends aboard the classically styled yacht, Northern Lights . Cruise by the U.S.S. Constitution at dry dock in the Charlestown Navy Yard and wait for cannon fire to announce the setting of the sun.

-->Boston Harbor Cruise on Northern Lights -->

Step aboard Northern Lights for a 1.5-hour sightseeing  cruise  of  Boston   Harbor .  The  harbor  is full of rich and unique history that will keep your attention throughout the trip. Grab a hot beverage or small bite from the bar.   Sit back, and relax aboard the warm and cozy Northern Lights!

-->Boston Sunset Sail -->

Experience a beautiful Boston Harbor sunset on the water and see some of the city’s waterfront landmarks as the sun dips below the horizon. Sailing offers a smooth and gentle experience on the water, which is great for having a romantic early evening out with that special someone. Our crew and captain offer top notch customer service to our guests.

-->Boston Day Sail -->

Within minutes of leaving the dock, you’ll forget the distractions of life on land, as you experience the joy of a leisurely sailing cruise. Our classic afternoon day sails are the perfect way to see the sights of Boston Harbor. There is no better way to enjoy the day than sailing aboard the schooner Adirondack III , which is the most elegant sailing excursion you will find in the harbor. Adirondack III is a classically styled 80-foot pilot schooner with long sleek lines. She is smooth and gentle sailing vessel with some speed.

-->Evening Jazz Cruise -->

Grab that special guy or gal, or a couple of happy-footed friends who enjoy the sounds of music on our 90-minute live jazz cruise in Boston Harbor. Allow your senses to take you back in time with the sights of our 1920s styled New England Yacht combined with sounds of jazz. Our jazz cruise is preformed by Blue Motion Quartet, which brings a blend of vibrant modern groove with a standard jazz repertoire. Cruise through the harbor enjoying the City Lights as they dazzle on the waters of Boston Harbor, grab a glass of champagne or a mixed drink from the bar and dance with your sweetheart on this one of a kind cruise.  This is the perfect cruise for snuggling up with a loved one’s or dancing with a group of friends to the sounds of the Blue Motion Quartet. 

-->Adirondack III 90-Minute Mimosa Day Sail -->

Our classic, 90-minute, afternoon day sails are the perfect way to see the sights of Boston Harbor. There is no better way to enjoy the day than sailing aboard the schooner Adirondack III, which is the most elegant sailing excursion you will find in the harbor. Adirondack III is a classically styled 80-foot pilot schooner with long sleek lines. She is smooth and gentle sailing vessel with some speediness to boot.  Within minutes of leaving the dock, you’ll forget the distractions of life on land, as you experience the joy of a leisurely sailing cruise.

-->U.S.S. Constitution Turnaround Sail aboard Schooner Adirondack III -->

Join us for the 2.5-3 hour long sail on July 4th to view the turnaround of the U.S.S. Constitution, the oldest (1797) actively commissioned naval vessel in the world. Experience this yearly event like you never have before aboard Adirondack III, a classic 80-foot pilot schooner. She features comfortable seating and a brisk ride, as we are able to view the turnaround of the U.S.S. Constitution. You won’t want to miss this truly unique and special event! The turnaround takes place once a year to celebrate our nation’s birthday. The U.S.S. Constitution will sail out into Boston Harbor where she’ll exchange a 21-gun salute with Castle Island’s Fort Independence. While aboard enjoy complimentary pastries, bagels, and muffins with our continental breakfast.  (Continental breakfast includes: Assorted Pastries, Scones, and Muffins, Jalapeño Cheese Bagels with Cream Cheese, Fresh Seasonal Fruit, Yogurt and Granola)

-->Illuminate the Harbor Fireworks Cruise on Northern Lights -->

Celebrate the last days of summer with friends and family on a Illuminate the Harbor fireworks cruise aboard the Yacht Northern Lights, which offers a crowd-free alternative to the shore line!  Avoid the crowds and get front row seats for Boston Harbor’s Labor Day Fireworks cruise aboard Northern Lights, a classic 1920s style commuter yacht.  Northern Lights offers bench seating on her partially covered top deck and full seating in her climate controlled cabin. Adult beverages are available for purchase at our bar. Be out on our open top deck bow to watch the big booms overhead or enjoy them from the comfortable seated cabin.

-->Boston Fall Foliage Brunch Cruise -->

Weekends are a time for relaxing and getting your days started the right way. Join us for a Mimosa and Bloody Mary Cruise aboard the elegant Northern Lights to jump start your relaxation mode. Enjoy our gourmet brunch buffet and select a cozy seat aboard Northern Lights as we cruise around Boston Harbor to capture panoramic views of Boston. This is the perfect event for groups looking to entertain guests from out of town. You can see the sites without giving up a relaxing weekend. We can accommodate small bridal parties or even morning after wedding parties. The Brunch Cruise offers the perfect event for the individual or the group looking to celebrate and relax.

-->Boston Harbor Fall Foliage Luncheon Cruise -->

Pull out your autumn sweaters and grab a hot cider and join the captain and crew of Northern Lights for a relaxing Boston Harbor Fall Foliage Cruise, featuring the colorful trees of fall. New England has been known for the vibrant foliage that people are drawn to every year. So grab your friends and family and enjoy some time out on the water for this Fall Foliage Cruise.  This time of year is a magical with the change of the season and New England does it best.  Let our professional crew cater to you as embark on this breathtaking boat adventure.  

-->Holiday Brunch Cruise -->

Take a relaxing morning cruise through the Boston Harbor on our Boston Holiday Brunch Cruise in the warm, cozy, and festively decorated interior of Yacht Manhattan. While aboard, warm up with a cup of hot cocoa from our hot chocolate bar and enjoy the harbor sites with friends and family! 

-->Cocoa & Carols Holiday Cruise -->

Come aboard our luxury yacht Manhattan decked out in Holiday decor for an evening of holiday cheer. Enjoy a cruise out into Boston Harbor that is perfect for everyone in your family. Holiday favorites will fill the air to set the perfect mood for Holiday spirit.  This is Boston Holiday Cruise that is not to be missed. Cozy up with some hot cocoa, and treats for the whole family. Sit back, enjoy the view, the music, and the holiday cheer with this Boston Holiday Cruise.

-->Romantic Valentine’s Jazz & Champagne Cruise -->

Romantic Valentine’s Day Jazz & Champagne Tasting Cruise. Start or end your romantic evening with a light champagne tasting and stunning views of Boston. While sipping on your champagne, enjoy romantic jazz tunes by our house jazz band as we glide through the harbor. While fireworks are not included in this cruise, we hope to create metaphorical sparks for you and your date.

-->Boston St. Patrick’s Day Brunch Cruise with Live Music -->

Step aboard for a Boston St. Patrick’s Day Brunch Cruise! Don’t forget the most important meal of the day on our favorite holiday! Join us on yacht Northern Lights and enjoy a traditional Irish breakfast aboard the Northern Lights Brunch Cruise! Start your day with bacon rashers, black pudding, sausage, and more. While you fuel your Irish spirit, enjoy the sites around Boston Harbor aboard our decorated ship. Of course, your fulfillment of this Irish holiday is not complete without a festive Irish drink. Visit our bar to view our specially crafted Irish drinks and beers. That’s right, Irish coffee by the boat load! This trip is sure to help you kick start your day! “Top of the morning to ya!”

-->Labor Day Fireworks Cruise Aboard Adirondack III -->

What better way to celebrate the end of summer, but with a stellar fireworks display from the waters of Boston Harbor? Join us aboard beautiful Adirondack III for a magnificent Labor Day cruise. This 2-hour cruise offers guests the opportunity to soak up Boston’s colorful fireworks display from an awesome vantage point, practically right underneath them and out on the water! (The event does not sail and offers spectacular views of the fireworks)

-->Saturday Barbecue & Beers Cruise -->

Summer has arrived and there are two things we do in the summertime in Boston and that is boating and barbecues! Put them together on this 1.5-hour cruise through Boston harbor. We’ll pull out the corn hole and turn up the Beach Boys as we create a unique summer event for you. Bring a few friends and grab a few seasonal beers from the bar and do summer like a pirate!

-->Mother’s Brunch Cruise aboard Northern Lights featuring Live Jazz! -->

Brunch Cruise aboard Northern Lights! This weekend, treat your mom and grandmother to a relaxing and scenic Brunch Cruise on Northern Lights! with our live Jazz band! There’s plenty of room to distance and take group photos as we cruise through historic Boston Harbor. The bar is open when you step aboard our unique cruise, that’s right, were here to begin operation “Celebrate Mom” as early as possible. Enjoy our gourmet brunch buffet and select a cozy seat aboard Northern Lights as we capture the perfect panoramic views of Boston.

-->Harborfest Fireworks aboard Northern Light -->

Bostonians know how to celebrate our Independence and it all begins with Harborfest. Join us aboard the Northern Lights with friends and family for 2.25-hour Harborfest Cruise and fireworks cruise, which offers a crowd-free alternative to the shore line! Wave to your fellow patriots on shore and take in the sites of Boston harbor during the parade. Avoid the masses and get front row seats for the Fireworks portion of our cruise aboard Northern Lights. Northern Lights is a classic 1920s style commuter yacht.

-->Harborfest Fireworks aboard Adirondack III -->

Get the fourth of July week started with a BANG! Wave to your fellow patriots on the shoreline as we cruise around and see the sites of Boston! Following our cruise around the harbor enjoy a spectacular fireworks display on Boston Harbor. Join us for two hour cruise, followed by Harborfest Fireworks lighting up along Boston’s Waterfront.

-->U.S.S. Constitution Turnaround Brunch on Northern Lights -->

Join us for the July 4th turnaround cruise of the U.S.S. Constitution, the oldest (1797) actively commissioned naval vessel in the world . You won’t want to miss this truly unique and special event! The turnaround takes place once a year to celebrate our nation’s birthday. During the turnaround cruise the U.S.S. Constitution will sail out into Boston Harbor where she’ll exchange a 21-gun salute with Castle Island’s Fort Independence. After he salute, she will head back into the inner harbor and exchange cannon fire with the sector Boston’s United States Coast Guard base located in the North End. During our excursion please enjoy a three course brunch made fresh aboard the vessel. 

-->Winthrop 4th of July Fireworks Cruise and Sail on Adirondack III -->

Don’t want to deal with all the traffic crowds and hype surrounding the 4th of July, but still want to celebrate and enjoy the patriotic holiday? Step aboard the Adirondack III for a cruise to Winthrop to watch the fireworks and then sail back to Boston at the end. Sip on Champagne and enjoy this magical evening with the best seats in the house! 

-->Winthrop 4th of July Fireworks Cruise on Northern Lights -->

Take a ride on Northern Lights, a classic 1920s style commuter yacht, to see the Winthrop Fireworks on the evening of July 4th. Cruise with us aboard our luxury yacht and celebrate Independence Day with friends and family from our crowd free yacht.  Take in the magnificent display of Fireworks while sipping on Champagne with the best seats in the house.  

-->Holiday Sunset Cruise -->

Step aboard the luxury yacht Manhattan decked out in Holiday decor for a Boston Harbor Holiday Sunset Cruise.  Our captain will provide light commentary of Boston Harbors sightseeing highlights. And enjoy light Holiday music as it will be played throughout the trip. Watch the sky as it changes from blues to oranges behind the outline of Boston’s city skyline.

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Sail out from Rowes Wharf and impress your guests. Step aboard one of our classic vessels for a private charter. These yachts are perfect for Corporate outings, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Weddings, Team Building and more. Read more »

PUBLIC EVENTS

Sail out into NY Harbor and impress your guests. Step aboard one of our classic vessels for a private charter. These yachts are perfect for Corporate outings, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Weddings, Team Building and more. Read more »

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Voted #1 “Best Patriotic Attraction”

At the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, you can be a part of the famous event that forever changed the course of American history through a multi-sensory experience that includes live actors, interactive exhibits, and full-scale replica 18th-century sailing vessels!

Relive American History

Museum experience.

Re-enact the Event that Started a Revolution

Historical interpreters, interactive exhibits, full-scale replica 18th-century sailing vessels, and historic artifacts, are just some of what you’ll experience during your visit.

Scroll to explore, or use our interactive map.

Ticketed museum experience includes sections 1-5, and cannot be toured separately. Sections 6 & 7, the museum gift shop and Abigail’s Tea Room, are open to the general public without a museum ticket.

The Meeting House

Join the Sons & Daughters of Liberty on a Rendezvous with History.

Enter the Meeting House and step back in time to rebellious 1773 Boston and meet Samuel Adams – your 18th century host! This is where you’ll start your journey to learning about the “single most important event leading up to the American Revolution” – the Boston Tea Party – where it all began during the colonial town meeting.

Join the Sons & Daughters of Liberty on a rendezvous with history! Enter the meeting house and step back in time to rebellious 1773 Boston.

Tea Party Ships

Storm Aboard the 18th Century sailing vessels Brig Beaver and Eleanor!

Experience life at sea aboard an 18th-century sailing vessel as you join a Son of Liberty and take part in the “Destruction of the Tea”! Throw tea into the very same body of water where the Boston Tea Party took place over 240 years ago.

Storm aboard one of our two Tea Ships, the brig Beaver or ship Eleanor, and join a Son of Liberty as you take part in the “Destruction of the Tea!”

Griffin’s Wharf

Located on the same body of water where the Boston tea Party occurred over two centuries ago.

Explore our open air deck and full-scale replica 18th century sailing vessels, as well as the other cargoes that accompanied the fated tea to America. Meet the Sons and Daughters of Liberty and learn about the Boston Tea Party of 1773!

Located on the same body of water where the Boston Tea Party occurred over two centuries ago.

Reenactment in 3D

Where 18th Century meets Cutting Edge Technology.

Experience the debate firsthand and learn of the potential ramifications of your bold actions as you find yourself on Griffin’s Wharf on the morning following the Boston Tea Party. A Patriot and a Loyalist discuss “the boldest stroke yet struck in America”.

Where 18th Century meets cutting edge technology! Experience the immediate debate firsthand and the potential ramifications for your bold actions.

The Robinson Tea Chest

A box worth keeping.

Protected and preserved for more than two centuries, the Robinson Tea Chest is the only known surviving tea chest from the Boston Tea Party of 1773. Experience the compelling history of this significant artifact from its humble beginnings in China through the Boston Tea Party and being handed down through the generations. The Robinson Tea Chest is proudly displayed at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum from the permanent collections of Historic Tours of America, Inc.

Protected and preserved for more than two centuries, the Robinson Tea Chest is the only known surviving tea chest from the Boston Tea Party.

Minuteman Theater

Immerse yourself in our Award Winning Documentary.

Our multi-sensory film, “Let It Begin Here ® ”, dramatically depicts the events of April 19, 1775, including Paul Revere’s famous “Midnight Ride” and the beginning of the American Revolution.

Barely 16 months after the tea was destroyed in Boston Harbor, militiamen rallied on Lexington Green as the “shot heard ‘round the world” was fired. The theater’s panoramic movie screen places you in the middle of the battle action as you see, hear, and feel the sensations of horses galloping, soldiers marching and muskets firing through the countryside. Join the ranks of the militiamen as they stand against the British Regulars.

Let It Begin Here depicts the events of April 19th, 1775, which include a battle scene. It can be loud and intense for some. Museum tour Hosts will remain present should guests require assistance or exit.

Immerse yourself in our award winning multi-sensory film! Our documentary film, “Let it Begin Here” dramatically depicts the events of April 19, 1775 of Paul Revere’s midnight ride and the beginning of the American Revolution.

Abigail's Tea Room & Terrace

Your Adventure Isn’t Complete Without a Spot of Tea

The comfortable charm of another era, wonderful waterfront and skyline views, a friendly welcome from colonial tea ladies and reasonably priced menu choices make Abigail’s the perfect place to pause for a relaxing break. Taste history by sampling some of the 5 teas thrown over during the Boston Tea Party, enjoy a glass of refreshing lemonade, cool iced tea, or a mug of hot or cold apple cider and try our hard-to-resist tasty treats: assorted scones, cookies, muffins and pies. Or, join us at lunchtime for a variety of delicious grab & go sandwiches, salads & chowder. Adults looking for a beverage a bit stronger than tea are pleased to see that Abigail’s serves Sam Adam’s Beer, as well as “Dark and Stormy’s” and red or white wines. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the special ambiance of Abigail’s Tea Room & Terrace – it hits the spot! View Menu

The comfortable charm of another era, wonderful waterfront and skyline views, a friendly welcome from colonial tea ladies and reasonably priced menu choices make Abigail’s the perfect place to pause for a relaxing break.

Bring home a bit of history in the form of an American Revolution souvenir from the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum gift shop. Browse through an array of interesting gifts and collectibles and take home a special keepsake to remember your journey back to colonial America.

Boston Tea Party Descendants Program

In partnership with the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

Grave Marker Commemorations

Honoring all who took part in the 1773 Destruction of the Tea.

Tickets & Packages

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum General Admission

• A fully guided experience by costumed interpreters telling the story of that fateful night in 1773.
• A tour of an 18th century replica (restored) vessel.
• Dump the tea into the sea!
• View the Robinson Tea Chest: The only known surviving tea chest from the Boston Tea Party.

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum + Old Town Trolley Tour Package

• Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum Ticket.
• Old Town Trolley Tour - 1 day of free unlimited re-boarding.
• 50% off Historic Harbor Cruise*
• $10 off Ghosts & Gravestones Tour*.
• $5 off Boston Summer Nights Tour & Charles River Cruise* (May 24 – Sept. 2, 2024)
• 50% off admission at The Sports Museum*

1-Day Old Town Trolley Tour

• 1 day of free unlimited re-boarding*.
• $6 off admission to Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum*.
• More than 100 points of interest.

Ghosts & Gravestones Tour

• Reservations are required.
• Explore some of Boston’s most haunted sites…
• Walk amongst the dead in burying grounds nearly 400-years-old.
• Exclusive night-time access into two of Boston’s oldest burying grounds.
• See Boston’s most haunted hotel: The Omni Parker House.

Boston Day and Night Tour Package

• Old Town Trolley Tours 1 day of free unlimited re-boarding*.
• Ghosts & Gravestones Night Tour**.

School Field Trips & Group Tours

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10 Top Boston Harbor Cruises

Venture on the water to explore Beantown's waterfront, maritime history and more.

Courtesy of City Cruises by Hornblower

Take in stunning city views from the water.

Boston is the most populous city in New England – and for good reason. This Massachusetts metropolis may host modern shopping, dining and cultural attractions, but Boston is built upon a rich American tapestry created over the centuries that's still visible in its quaint neighborhood streets and stone houses. The city's historic harbor along the Massachusetts Bay set the scene for a significant portion of Boston's story; once the site of Revolution-era protests like the Boston Tea Party, this body of water is now primarily used for revelry. No visit to Massachusetts' capital city would be complete without some time on Boston Harbor.

If you're planning to spend some time in Beantown during the warmer months, consider boarding a schooner for an hour or two of sightseeing, or head out on a boat you can pedal or sail yourself. Cruises on the harbor offer a range of historical tours, romantic dinners on the water, unique brunches with friends or even the chance to spot some endangered whales. Whether you opt for a tall ship or a smaller, more eco-friendly vessel, soak in city views and enjoy your time on the water with the following top Boston Harbor cruises.

Boston Harbor City Cruises by Hornblower

Hornblower's City Experiences brand offers a wide variety of land-based and on-the-water tours, which includes City Cruises. While the brand has greatly expanded over the past century to 125 U.S. cities and more than 100 countries, it all began with Boston Harbor Cruises, founded in 1926.

Today, Boston Harbor City Cruises encompass a range of ways to see the city from the water. You can book a brunch, lunch or dinner cruise on a dining vessel like the 600-passenger Boston Odyssey; time your sailing for sunset; or plan a big outing for a holiday such as the Fourth of July. Dare to ride Codzilla, a thrilling speed boat designed to leave slow-paced sightseeing tours in its wake. Zoom around the harbor for around 45 minutes at up to 40 miles per hour – and since you likely will get wet, ponchos are available on board. This 70-foot harbor boat, complete with a toothy paint job, also boasts an original soundtrack.

If you're looking for a different kind of enjoyment with a little less aquatic adrenaline, Boston Harbor City Cruises partners with the New England Aquarium for a series of spectacular whale watching trips. From Boston's Central Wharf, you'll head to Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, one of the world's most active marine sanctuaries. Whales in the region include humpbacks, minke whales, the endangered right whales and more. You can also try to spot sea birds, dolphins and other marine life – but if you don't see whales on your cruise, a free ticket will be offered to you for a future whale watching trip.

See more of Boston: Things to Do | Hotels

Classic Harbor Line Boston

Courtesy of Classic Harbor Line Boston

With a fleet that includes schooner Adirondack III and motor yacht Northern Lights, Classic Harbor Line is a great choice for a Boston Harbor cruise. Join a guided sightseeing tour or charter your own yacht for the day; the schooner is designed for 40 people or less, while the motor yacht can accommodate just under 150 guests. Classic Harbor Line offers themed cruises, if your interest is piqued by either an adults-only nighttime City Lights sailing (perfect for couples) or a cruise that pairs a day of harbor islands and lighthouses – including the country's oldest – with a picnic lunch. The two-hour sunset cruise aboard Northern Lights is accompanied by the nightly cannon fire from the USS Constitution , also known as "Old Ironsides" – the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat, built in 1794.

If you want to sail Boston Harbor with a cold beer, you can't go wrong with Sails & Ales, a special themed cruise created in partnership with the local favorite Harpoon Brewery. Sail along the waterfront at sunset past sights like Independence Fort as your Harpoon representative explains beermaking techniques. You'll sip four flagship or seasonal beers plus one cider. A ticket for a future free tour of the brewery is included, and you'll know exactly where it is because this cruise sails right past it.

Boston Green Cruises

Right on Rowes Wharf behind the Boston Harbor Hotel, Boston Green Cruises has a fleet of three vessels: the 350-passenger Sir Winston and two low-emissions boats known as Beach Cat, a 44-foot catamaran that seats 30 people, and Zulu. Boston Green Cruises, which calls itself Boston Harbor's first eco-friendly fleet, offers a 60-minute, fully narrated sightseeing tour for all ages that covers the city's marquee waterfront sights. A 90-minute sightseeing cruise is also on offer on one of the company's smaller ships and includes time passing the historic locks along the Charles River. If you're looking for the ultimate intimate Boston Harbor cruise, consider a private charter, which can run anywhere from two to eight hours. Be aware that in the event of inclement weather, cruises will be rescheduled but not refunded, per company policy. Past Boston Green Cruise participants have said the captain they sailed with was friendly and knowledgeable, providing a great history lesson on the harbor.

Massachusetts Bay Lines

Courtesy of Massachusetts Bay Lines

Massachusetts Bay Lines, referred to locally as Mass Bay Lines, offers sightseeing tours and private charters in Boston Harbor – but also floating concerts and DJ sets you can experience with up to 379 of your closest new friends. Beyond traditional sightseeing tours and music cruises, Mass Bay also hosts a handful of themed options. Once per month from May through October, you can take part in a two-hour Full Moon Cruise, which sets sail under the lunar light of a full moon and the city lights of Boston in the background. Passengers 21 and up may choose to celebrate New Year's Eve or Independence Day by cruising in the city known as the birthplace of the American Revolution: The adults-only sailings on Dec. 31, July 3 and July 4 mark the occasions with a cash bar, dancing and a prime place to watch the fireworks. Dog owners will be happy to know Mass Bay even welcomes one four-legged friend per each adult ticket on its Dog Days of Summer sailings – but you're not required to bring a pooch, so if you're simply a dog lover looking to see the sights, head down to Rowes Wharf.

Cycleboat Boston

Courtesy of Cycleboat Boston

If you've walked around Beantown but still want to get some steps in – even on the water – consider booking a sightseeing harbor cruise that you can pedal. Cycleboat Boston lets you ride on bike seats and cycle your way through Boston Harbor to help propel the boat, but it's not required if you'd rather relax in the lounge. Tours focused on U.S. history cover the Boston Tea Party Ships , Bunker Hill Monument and the Charlestown Navy Yard, among other local sites. Pedal along during the day, by night or at sunset; the morning cruises encourage mimosas, but you must provide valid ID and bring your own beverages (with coolers and ice provided). Recent reviews rave about the captain and first mate and say if you're not looking for much of a workout you can just sit back and have fun.

Liberty Fleet of Tall Ships

Courtesy of Liberty Fleet of Tall Ships

Board a schooner from the Liberty Fleet of Tall Ships and sail Boston's historic harbor in fitting style. Your two-hour tour begins by embarking the 125-foot Liberty Clipper at Long Wharf, or you can opt for a more intimate, 90-minute experience on the Liberty Star, which is less than half the size of the Liberty Clipper. Tickets and drink tickets can be purchased ahead online or during your cruise; otherwise, you can bring your own snacks and bag lunches.

The fleet sails Boston Harbor from June through September, offering sunset cruises, history sailings and evening cocktail cruises where the rum never stops flowing (with group discounts available for parties of four). Sailing enthusiasts may want to join the Sail Through Time Cruise, which documents the history of some of Boston's most famous sailing ships, as well as the people who lived and worked on them; you can enjoy this fact-filled day on the water with a docent from Boston by Foot as your guide and even help hoist the sails. Passengers appreciate the serenity of seeing the city from a new perspective.

Boston Electric Boats

@urbanophoto | Courtesy of Boston Electric Boats

India Wharf was one of the largest commercial wharves in the Port of Boston during the 19th century, and today the India Wharf Marina, just a short walk from the aquarium, hosts boats for rental or charter through Boston Electric Boats. Those seeking a self-guided Boston Harbor cruise will be pleased to take advantage of the Be Your Own Captain Rental, available for two hours at a time. No experience or boating license is necessary to pilot the boat – though the company will make sure you're comfortable before you set off – and up to 11 people can sail along with you.

If you'd rather leave the steering to someone else, a Captain Provided Charter accommodates up to six passengers, allowing you to take in the breeze and enjoy any refreshments you may have brought. The boat's canopy provides shade, while the open deck is perfect for basking in the sun; the enclosure windows can be opened or closed to adjust for the weather. These electric boats are more eco-friendly with no fuel odors and a quiet motor. Boaters have commented that preset GPS routes make piloting the boats much easier, and a top speed of 6 miles per hour keeps the ride safe and relaxing.

Boston Harbor Islands Ferry

Beginning in May, a ferry service provided by Boston Harbor City Cruises connects downtown Boston to the Boston Harbor Islands. This transport gives a unique chance to experience some of the wilder elements of Boston's seaways, with ferries that run to Spectacle Island, Georges Island and Thompson Island during the warmer months.

On Thompson Island, accessible only on weekends, you'll get a brief orientation to start your visit; on Saturdays, a National Park Service ranger hosts a guided walk to explore the island ecosystems, including salt marsh, beaches, meadows and forest. Spectacle Island is a 114-acre island perfect for a day of hiking and swimming, with an accessible lifeguarded beach and occasional weekend jazz concerts. Georges Island offers up the history, as it houses the Civil War-era Fort Warren; ranger-led tours are available.

Charles Riverboat Company

The Charles Riverboat Company was founded in 1990 and remains a family-run business whose five vessels now carry more than 50,000 passengers per year. The company believes that whether you're a visitor or a local, seeing the city from the water is a spectacular experience that all will enjoy. Guided historic sightseeing cruises feature Harvard University, modern skyscrapers like the Prudential Building and more. Learn about the architecture and building design of landmarks along the harbor and Charles River on the two-hour Architecture Cruise.

As you might expect, many of the Charles Riverboat offerings focus on its namesake river, which flows into Boston Harbor, whether you want to see fall foliage, hear haunted tales or simply enjoy a cocktail at sunset with live music on the Charles River. The company also has a booming charter business for graduations, engagements, retirements and other special celebrations, with recent customers citing extraordinary service from staff.

Boston Duck Tours

If you can't choose between tours on land and boat, you don't have to. It's nearly impossible to visit Boston and not run into one of its renowned duck tours. This type of amphibious automobile was originally created as a military vehicle under the code name "DUKW," and now these boat-bus hybrids can transport tourists in and out of the water. To cap off your city visit, venture slightly beyond Boston Harbor with this cruise along the Charles River.

The vehicles used today by Boston Duck Tours are uniquely designed to roll past city sights like Boston Common , the Old North Church and the Fanueil Hall Marketplace before or after launching into the Charles River for views of the Cambridge and Boston skylines. This Boston boat experience is unlike any other, led by beloved "conDUCKtor" guides: You might meet Duck Tracy, Florence Waters or Professor Quackenstein, who will regale you with their own take on Boston's top attractions. A lighthearted but thorough excursion through city history, Boston Duck Tours has won many accolades. Past customers remember these unique tours as one of the best parts of their visit – and as a special draw for kids, the tour guides may allow children to briefly steer the boat in the water for a particularly memorable experience.

You might also be interested in:

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Fights for Independence

Birth of America

Freedom Trail® Boston

Every step tells a story.

The Freedom Trail is a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution and beyond.

Explore Tours

Walk into history®.

The Freedom Trail Foundation's most popular tour highlights the revolutionary history that took place at 11 of the 16 official Freedom Trail historic sites.

Tour Schedule

11 am, 12 noon, 1 pm  Purchase Tickets  

North End Tours highlight official Freedom Trail historic sites such as Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere House, Old North Church, and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, and other historic places in Boston’s oldest neighborhood.  

Saturdays through December 30, 1:30 pm

Private & Custom

All Freedom Trail tours led by 18 th -century costumed guides are excellent for families, school field trips, corporate team building, incentives, and convention activities. These tours can be customized to fit your group's schedule and are available year round. 

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What People Are Saying

Yelp review.

The Freedom Trail is one of the iconic touristy things to do in Boston, and there's a reason for that. I did the full trail many, many years ago but decided to go with this shorter, more compact trail with our family. The 1.5 hour length is the right duration for kids, and our guide, Jeremiah Poope (his actual last name!), kept it interesting the entire time. He has been a tour guide in Boston for many years, and he had a ton of interesting stories and facts beyond the typical revolutionary war factoids.

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We had a wonderful time and your guides were wonderful. They were energetic, informed, and brought history to life. Thank you once again!

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We only had 1 day to explore downtown Boston, and this tour was a great way to see several different sites, learn about history, and get a bit of walking in. We were a few minutes late for the start of the 1pm tour but easily able to catch up and join in.. Our tour guide was fantastic! One member of my group uses a wheelchair, and the guide was great about leading the WHOLE tour through accessible entrances to sites and to sidewalks with curb cuts so that all of us could participate without feeling singled out.

Great tour with Isaiah Thomas! Great local guide who was very engaging and a walking encyclopedia of Boston history. It was a nice 1.5 hr walking tour hitting most of the south end Freedom Trail points of interest. For the money, it’s hard to beat!

The Freedom Trail Walking tour presents full of historic knowledge and our guide, Parker, provides us the best experience for this amazing learning adventure. That is to say, in this tour you can also learn about the myth and the truth of the history we learned from our textbooks. I would recommend anyone who visit Boston and is interested in learning history or simply just want to listen to funny stories

Freedom Trail Preservation

Boston's iconic 2.5 mile-Freedom Trail connects 16 nationally significant historic sites, each one an authentic treasure. Thanks to preservation efforts, these cultural assets are still intact, which makes Boston truly unique as one of the few places in America to experience the actual sites and learn the history they tell while walking through modern city streets.

Under new ownership and with a new location at Fan Pier!

Boston Harbor Sunset Sail

Quick Details

• Hour Glass Duration: 2 Hours
• Clock Time of Day: Evening

Sunset Sail in Boston Harbor

If Boston is best seen from the water, then by far the best time to see it is during a sunset cruise on a classic Boston tall ship! We depart Fan Pier Marina and raise the sales, then it’s time to just chill out and relax.

The Star can accommodate up to 39 passengers for day sails in addition to a crew of 3. Get away from the hustle and bustle of the city streets and enjoy some quality time out on the water with unbeatable views of the skyline sparkling in the twilight.

Drinks are available onboard for purchase via cash, credit, or Apple Pay – our menu includes several beers brewed right here in Boston! We also have red and white wine, vodka- and rum-based cocktails, soda, juice, and water available in addition to several snack options.

Snacks and bag lunches are welcome, but please no coolers or outside beverages.

There is no formal narration during our public sails, but feel free to ask the captain and crew and they’ll happily share their knowledge of local landmarks and history.

Watch CBS News

How you can win a spot aboard USS Constitution on July 4th

By WBZ-News Staff

Updated on: April 2, 2024 / 12:59 PM EDT / CBS Boston

BOSTON - The USS Constitution is holding a free lottery for a chance to be on the ship as it goes underway on Boston Harbor. 

The lottery is open to the general public and 150 people will be randomly selected. They will join the USS Constitution crew as they go underway on July 4, 2024. Each person selected will be able to bring one guest.

Passengers will learn about the history of Old Ironsides and get a front-row seat as the crew fires a 21-gun salute in honor of Independence Day.

A link to enter the lottery was posted on the USS Constitution Facebook and Instagram pages on Tuesday. The lottery will be open until May 2.   

The WBZ News team is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on WBZ.com.

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‘Nothing of the size of the ship that hit the bridge in Baltimore’: How the Tobin is different from the Francis Scott Key

S ince last week’s collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore, people around Boston have wondered: Could it happen here? But a recent visit with the US Coast Guard and conversations with local transportation officials make it clear they think there’s little chance of a similar disaster in Boston.

What about the Tobin Bridge, for example?

While there’s plenty of traffic on the Tobin, which connects Charlestown and Chelsea, there’s very little under it on the Mystic River. It’s not like Baltimore, where massive container ships routinely passed under the Key Bridge until one such ship slammed into a bridge support on Mar. 26, killing six people and destroying the bridge.

Any similar accident with the Tobin would strike down a vital highway connection as well as one of the city’s most familiar landmarks. The 74-year-old double-decker bridge, recently inspected for safety, according to Governor Maura Healey, is the biggest in New England — over two miles long, with 135 feet of clearance between its lower deck and the river below, plenty of room for large cargo vessels. The Tobin is considered “structurally deficient” by the state and is slated for repairs over the next few years.

But when a Coast Guard patrol boat ferried a group of Globe journalists under the Tobin Bridge last Friday, the waterway was almost entirely clear. It was a misty, blustery day, and the harbor water was so cold that the Coast Guard insisted their guests wear full-body survivor suits. The pleasure boats that decorate the harbor in the summertime were nowhere to be seen, and there were no container-carrying giants.

That’s pretty much the norm these days, according to Jonathan Gulliver, state highway administrator for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. “Very rare that you get anything of substantial size” passing under the Tobin, he said. “Nothing of the size of the ship that hit the bridge in Baltimore.”

The Port of Boston‘s Conley Container Terminal handles about 20 large container ships each month, said Massport spokesperson Jennifer Mehigan. But none of these get anywhere near the Tobin or any other local bridge as they enter or depart the port. The same goes for the dozens of cruise ships that call at the Flynn Cruiseport between March and November.

The handful of large ships that pass under the Tobin Bridge include liquefied natural gas tankers bound for the fuel terminal in Everett. But Gulliver said LNG tanker shipments are few and far between. Constellation Energy, which operates the fuel terminal, said eight ships made deliveries in 2023, and four during the first quarter of 2024. A company spokesman said that deliveries mainly occur in the winter months. But there was no tanker at the terminal during last week’s tour.

Nor was there any sign of the giant ships that pass under the Tobin to deliver thousands of cars to the Boston Autoport in Charlestown. While Baltimore is the nation’s leading seaport for automotive traffic and handled over 847,000 vehicle imports and exports last year, traffic at Boston’s Autoport is much lighter. The port handled just 30,000 cars in 2023.

All told, about 60 big ships passed under the Tobin last year, according to the Coast Guard.

During Friday’s tour, the only large ship nearby was offloading rock salt on the other side of the McArdle Bridge, a drawbridge that provides access to Chelsea Creek. This bridge, which connects East Boston to Chelsea, carries about 24,000 vehicles per day, compared to about 87,000 for the Tobin. The McArdle sees a lot more ship traffic than the Tobin. The Coast Guard said the bridge was raised for about 225 ships carrying bulk commodities, chemicals, and petroleum products last year.

A key factor that makes a collision unlikely here is that the Port of Boston, unlike Baltimore, requires the use of at least one tugboat for any ship of more than 350 tons.

“It’s not a federal requirement,” said Coast Guard Cmdr. Bradley Peifer, chief of the prevention department at US Coast Guard Sector Boston, “but this industry, this community, has thought it’s important enough to have a tug alongside.” This includes all the vessels that pass under the Tobin and McArdle bridges, as well as the many container and cruise ships that never approach them.

In Baltimore, ships would leave and enter the harbor under their own power, with no tug on hand to provide emergency assistance. This policy left the giant container ship Dali helpless when it experienced a power failure, went out of control, and struck the Key Bridge pier.

Even if such an accident happened at the Tobin Bridge, the result wouldn’t be as catastrophic as the Baltimore disaster, according to Erin Bell, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of New Hampshire.

That’s because the Tobin Bridge uses a cantilever truss design, instead of the continuous truss of the Key Bridge. In a continuous truss, the entire weight of the bridge deck is shared across all the support piers. It’s a strong and reliable design, Bell said. But if just one bridge support fails, the bridge becomes unbalanced, and the entire structure collapses.

But with a cantilever bridge like the Tobin, each pier supports a separate section of the bridge deck which is centered above the pier and extends beyond it. “They don’t rely on each other,” said Bell. “If you lose one half, the other half stays.”

Bell offered one more reason to rest easy about the Tobin Bridge. She said that because its support piers are far outside the shipping channel and in relatively shallow water, a large ship’s hull would probably grind to a halt on the river bottom before it could hit the pier.

MassDOT’s Gulliver agreed. “Before a ship could even get to it,” he said, “they would run aground.”

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Biden visits Baltimore, tours collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge

Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse Members of the Coast Guard patrol near the wreckage of the cargo ship Dali after it collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge on April 4, 2024 in Baltimore. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

BALTIMORE — President Joe Biden traveled to Baltimore on Friday to see efforts to clear away the tons of metal left in the Patapsco River after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed last week, blocking a key shipping channel and leaving six people dead.

>> Read more trending news

The bridge fell into the river early on the morning of March 26 after one of its supporting columns was struck by a cargo ship, the Dali , as it was leaving Baltimore.

‘We’re going to continue to have your back,’ Biden says during Baltimore visit

Update 3:35 p.m. EDT April 5: Speaking after attending an operational briefing on Friday, Biden again vowed that the federal government will support Maryland’s efforts to recover from last week’s bridge collapse in Baltimore.

“We’re going to continue to have your back, every step of the way,” the president said. “I guarantee you.”

Earlier, federal officials made $60 million of federal funding available to aid in the cleanup and recovery efforts. Biden said, “We’re going to move heaven and earth to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as humanly possible, and we’re going to do so with union labor and American steel.”

“My administration is committed, absolutely committed to ensuring that the parties responsible for this tragedy pay to repair the damage and be held accountable to the fullest extent the law will allow,” he added. “But I also want to be clear — we will support Maryland and Baltimore every step of the way to help you rebuild and maintain all the business and commerce that is here now.”

Biden tours site of collapse

Update 2:50 p.m. EDT April 5: Biden saw the wreckage left by the bridge collapse from the air on Friday.

With him were Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, White House deputy chief of staff Natalie Quillian, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Linda Fagan and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon.

Biden visits Baltimore after Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in Washington, D.C., on Friday, April 5, 2024. The Biden administration urged Congress to fully fund the reconstruction of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in a letter to key lawmakers prior to his visit to the bridge wreckage on Friday. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Original report: Eight construction workers were fixing potholes on the bridge when it fell. Two survived after falling into the water. The bodies of two others were found after the collapse, and four others are believed to be dead.

On Friday afternoon, Biden will tour the site of the collapsed bridge by air before joining a briefing on response and recovery efforts. He will deliver remarks on the government’s response later Friday before meeting with families who lost loved ones in the collapse.

Over the weekend, officials began work to remove debris from the area. Authorities opened a temporary channel Monday which gave some ships access to the port. A second temporary channel opened on the southwest side of the main channel on Tuesday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the shipping channel, said Thursday that it expects to open a temporary channel by the end of April to allow access for container vessels and some that ship automobiles and farm equipment.

The Port of Baltimore is a key automobile hub for the U.S. In 2023, it recorded its 13th-straight year as the top U.S. port for vehicles, with more than 847,000 handled, according to Maryland officials. It was the top port for automobiles, light trucks, farm and construction machinery, imported sugar and imported gypsum, officials said.

“The port here in Baltimore does the most vehicle handling of any port at all, and that’s just talking about the vehicle side,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week. “There is no question that this will be a major and protected impact to supply chains.”

Federal officials have vowed to support Baltimore through its recovery. Authorities made $60 million in emergency relief funds available hours after the incident. Biden also said the federal government should cover the cost of rebuilding the bridge.

Bridge collapse Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with a support Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Baltimore. The major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below. Rescuers were searching for multiple people in the water. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark) (Steve Ruark/AP)

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March 27, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapse

By Kathleen Magramo , Antoinette Radford, Alisha Ebrahimji , Maureen Chowdhury , Elise Hammond , Tori B. Powell and Aditi Sangal , CNN

Our live coverage of the Baltimore bridge collapse has moved here .

Here's what you should know about the Key Bridge collapse

From CNN staff

Officials recovered the bodies of two construction workers who were on Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed early Tuesday morning after a 984-foot-long cargo ship collided into a pillar.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore called the collapse Wednesday " a global crisis ."

"The national economy and the world's economy depends on the Port of Baltimore. The port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in the country," Moore said.

Here's what you should know:

• The victims: The six people who are presumed dead were from Mexico Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, according to Col. Roland L. Butler Jr, the superintendent of Maryland State Police. Two bodies were recovered and have been identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes from Mexico and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera from Guatemala. The two workers were filling potholes on the bridge and were later found trapped in a red pickup truck in about 25 feet of water, Butler said. The FBI is handling notifying the victims' families, Butler said.
• Recovery efforts: Authorities are pausing search efforts for the four other workers who are presumed dead, because additional vehicles are encased in concrete and other debris, making it unsafe for divers, Butler said. Once salvage operations clear the debris, divers will search for more remains, he said.
• The investigation: The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the fatal incident, according to the agency's chair Jennifer Homendy. During a Wednesday news conference, Homendy said there were 21 crew members and two pilots on board the Dali cargo ship when it crashed into the bridge. She also said a senior NTSB hazmat investigator identified 56 containers of hazardous material, and that some containers are in the water. The agency received six hours of voyage data from the ship and the investigation could take 12 to 24 months to complete, Homendy said. She emphasized that NTSB will not analyze information collected or provide conclusions while on scene of the collapse.
• Looking forward: Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said rebuilding the bridge will not be "quick or easy" but that it will get done. He said there are four main focus points ahead: reopening the port, dealing with supply chain issues until its reopening, rebuilding the bridge and dealing with traffic issues until the bridge is rebuilt. Biden  pledged the full support  of the federal government in the response and recovery efforts. His administration has already conveyed a sense of urgency to open up federal funding to remove debris and ultimately rebuild the bridge. Maryland has submitted a request to the Biden administration for emergency relief funds "to assist in our work going forward," Moore said Wednesday.

It's almost impossible to place people on the bow of ship due to the unstable structure, fire official says

 From CNN's Sarah Engel

Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace said Wednesday that the cargo ship's bridge structure and containers at the bow remain unstable.

"It's going to be very difficult, if not impossible, and very dangerous, to place people on the bow of that boat right now," Wallace told CNN's Kaitlan Collins.

"Naturally, we're still very cognizant of the fact that there are hazardous materials on board the vessel itself," Wallace said, alluding to the National Transportation Safety Board saying earlier that 56 containers were carrying hazardous materials.

Wallace said his team is relying heavily on aerial recognizance, including drones. "That's the only way we're able to see in," he said.  

He added that the aerial surveillance has "been able to really assure us right now we have no [chemical] reactions on board." 

"It's just utter devastation," NTSB chief says of the bridge collapse site

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, called the site of the Key Bridge collapse "devastating."

"It's pretty devastating, certainly, seeing not just what's going on with the cargo containers, but just looking at what was a bridge span — three bridge spans that is pretty much gone. It's just utter devastation," she said at Wednesday evening's news briefing.

She added that she is thinking of families who lost loved ones and those who are waiting to reunite with their lived ones.

NTSB interviewed the Dali's captain and some other crew members today, agency chief says

The National Transportation Safety Board has interviewed the ship's captain, his mate, the chief engineer and one other engineer today, according to Chair Jennifer Homendy.

The two pilots on board the Dali at the time of collision will be interviewed tomorrow, she added.

Cargo ship's voyage data recorder is basic when compared to an airplane's, NTSB chair says

From CNN's Tori B. Powell

The voyage data recorder on the cargo ship Dali was a "newer model" but is considered basic when compared to that on an airplane, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.

"But it is very basic compared to say, a flight data recorder, where we would have 1,000 parameters," she said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The NTSB chief investigator Marcel Muise added:

"It's not a ship-wide system recorder, so most of the sensors that are being recorded are from the bridge. So things like GPS, the audio, rudder feedback, rudder commands are recorded on there. But not engineering, the temperature of each cylinder, power distribution sensors."

There were no tug boats with Dali at the time of the collision. That's normal, NTSB chief says

There were no tugs with Dali when the cargo vessel collided with Baltimore's Key Bridge, which is normal protocol, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.

Remember: At 01:26:39 on Tuesday, Dali's pilot made a general very high frequency (VHF) radio call for tugs in the vicinity to assist, the NTSB investigator Marcel Muise had said.

"The tugs help the vessel leave the dock, leave the port and get into the main ship channel. And then they leave. Once it's on its way, it's a straight shot through the channel. So there are no tugs with the vessel at the time. So they were calling for tugs," she said.

NTSB chair says she saw some containers that were carrying hazardous materials in the water

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said she did see some of the 56 containers that were carrying hazardous materials in the water.

When asked how many

When asked how many containers of hazardous materials were in the water, Homendy said:

"I did see some containers in the water, and some breached significantly on the vessel itself," she said. "I don't have an exact number, but it's something that we can provide in an update."

Homendy said that a preliminary report should be out in two to four weeks.

This post has been updated with more quotes from Homendy.

Bridge did not have any redundancy, unlike the preferred method for building bridges today, NTSB chair says

Baltimore's Key Bridge did not have any redundancy, which is included in the preferred method of building bridges in the present day, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.

"The bridge is a fracture critical," she explained. "What that means is if a member fails that would likely cause a portion of, or the entire bridge, to collapse, there's no redundancy. The preferred method for building bridges today is that there is redundancy built in, whether that's transmitting loads to another member or some sort of structural redundancy. This bridge did not have redundancy," Homendy said.

There are 17,468 fracture critical bridges in the United States out of 615,000 bridges total, she said, citing the Federal Highway Administration.

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‘Nothing of the size of the ship that hit the bridge in Baltimore’: How the Tobin is different from the Francis Scott Key

Since last week’s collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore, people around Boston have wondered: Could it happen here? But a recent visit with the US Coast Guard and conversations with local transportation officials make it clear they think there’s little chance of a similar disaster in Boston.

What about the Tobin Bridge, for example?

While there’s plenty of traffic on the Tobin, which connects Charlestown and Chelsea, there’s very little under it on the Mystic River. It’s not like Baltimore, where massive container ships routinely passed under the Key Bridge until one such ship slammed into a bridge support on Mar. 26, killing six people and destroying the bridge.

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Any similar accident with the Tobin would strike down a vital highway connection as well as one of the city’s most familiar landmarks. The 74-year-old double-decker bridge, recently inspected for safety, according to Governor Maura Healey, is the biggest in New England — over two miles long, with 135 feet of clearance between its lower deck and the river below, plenty of room for large cargo vessels. The Tobin is considered “structurally deficient” by the state and is slated for repairs over the next few years.

But when a Coast Guard patrol boat ferried a group of Globe journalists under the Tobin Bridge last Friday, the waterway was almost entirely clear. It was a misty, blustery day, and the harbor water was so cold that the Coast Guard insisted their guests wear full-body survivor suits. The pleasure boats that decorate the harbor in the summertime were nowhere to be seen, and there were no container-carrying giants.

That’s pretty much the norm these days, according to Jonathan Gulliver, state highway administrator for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. “Very rare that you get anything of substantial size” passing under the Tobin, he said. “Nothing of the size of the ship that hit the bridge in Baltimore.”

The Port of Boston‘s Conley Container Terminal handles about 20 large container ships each month, said Massport spokesperson Jennifer Mehigan. But none of these get anywhere near the Tobin or any other local bridge as they enter or depart the port. The same goes for the dozens of cruise ships that call at the Flynn Cruiseport between March and November.

The handful of large ships that pass under the Tobin Bridge include liquefied natural gas tankers bound for the fuel terminal in Everett. But Gulliver said LNG tanker shipments are few and far between. Constellation Energy, which operates the fuel terminal, said eight ships made deliveries in 2023, and four during the first quarter of 2024. A company spokesman said that deliveries mainly occur in the winter months. But there was no tanker at the terminal during last week’s tour.

Nor was there any sign of the giant ships that pass under the Tobin to deliver thousands of cars to the Boston Autoport in Charlestown. While Baltimore is the nation’s leading seaport for automotive traffic and handled over 847,000 vehicle imports and exports last year, traffic at Boston’s Autoport is much lighter. The port handled just 30,000 cars in 2023.

All told, about 60 big ships passed under the Tobin last year, according to the Coast Guard.

During Friday’s tour, the only large ship nearby was offloading rock salt on the other side of the McArdle Bridge, a drawbridge that provides access to Chelsea Creek. This bridge, which connects East Boston to Chelsea, carries about 24,000 vehicles per day, compared to about 87,000 for the Tobin. The McArdle sees a lot more ship traffic than the Tobin. The Coast Guard said the bridge was raised for about 225 ships carrying bulk commodities, chemicals, and petroleum products last year.

A key factor that makes a collision unlikely here is that the Port of Boston, unlike Baltimore, requires the use of at least one tugboat for any ship of more than 350 tons.

“It’s not a federal requirement,” said Coast Guard Cmdr. Bradley Peifer, chief of the prevention department at US Coast Guard Sector Boston, “but this industry, this community, has thought it’s important enough to have a tug alongside.” This includes all the vessels that pass under the Tobin and McArdle bridges, as well as the many container and cruise ships that never approach them.

In Baltimore, ships would leave and enter the harbor under their own power, with no tug on hand to provide emergency assistance. This policy left the giant container ship Dali helpless when it experienced a power failure, went out of control, and struck the Key Bridge pier.

Even if such an accident happened at the Tobin Bridge, the result wouldn’t be as catastrophic as the Baltimore disaster, according to Erin Bell, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of New Hampshire.

That’s because the Tobin Bridge uses a cantilever truss design, instead of the continuous truss of the Key Bridge. In a continuous truss, the entire weight of the bridge deck is shared across all the support piers. It’s a strong and reliable design, Bell said. But if just one bridge support fails, the bridge becomes unbalanced, and the entire structure collapses.

But with a cantilever bridge like the Tobin, each pier supports a separate section of the bridge deck which is centered above the pier and extends beyond it. “They don’t rely on each other,” said Bell. “If you lose one half, the other half stays.”

Bell offered one more reason to rest easy about the Tobin Bridge. She said that because its support piers are far outside the shipping channel and in relatively shallow water, a large ship’s hull would probably grind to a halt on the river bottom before it could hit the pier.

MassDOT’s Gulliver agreed. “Before a ship could even get to it,” he said, “they would run aground.”

Hiawatha Bray can be reached at [email protected] . Follow him @GlobeTechLab .

Six presumed dead after cargo ship crash levels Baltimore bridge

BALTIMORE — A major Baltimore bridge collapsed like a house of cards early Tuesday after it was struck by a container ship, sending six people to their deaths in the dark waters below, and closing one of the country’s busiest ports.

By nightfall, the desperate search for six people who were working on the bridge and vanished when it fell apart had become a grim search for bodies.

“We do not believe that we’re going to find any of these individuals still alive,” Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon N. Gilreath said.

Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said earlier that one of his workers had survived. He did not release their names.

Up until then, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore had held out hope that the missing people might be found even as law enforcement warned that the frigid water and the fact that there had been no sign of them since 1:30 a.m. when the ship struck Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Moore expressed heartbreak after officials suspended the search for survivors.

"Our heart goes out to the families," he said. "I can’t imagine how painful today has been for these families, how painful these hours have been have been for these families."

It was a crushing blow to the loved ones of the missing men, who had waited for hours at a Royal Farms convenience store near the entrance of the bridge for word of their fate. 

Follow live updates on the Baltimore bridge collapse

The tragic chain of events began early Tuesday when the cargo ship Dali notified authorities that it had lost power and issued a mayday moments before the 984-foot vessel slammed into a bridge support at a speed of 8 knots, which is about 9 mph.

Moore declared a state of emergency while rescue crews using sonar detected at least five vehicles in the frigid 50-foot-deep water: three passenger cars, a cement truck and another vehicle of some kind. Authorities do not believe anyone was inside the vehicles.

Investigators quickly concluded that it was an accident and not an act of terrorism.

Ship was involved in another collision

Earlier, two people were rescued from the water, Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said. One was in good condition and refused treatment, he said. The other was seriously injured and was being treated in a trauma center.

Moore said other drivers might have been in the water had it not been for those who, upon hearing the mayday, blocked off the bridge and kept other vehicles from crossing.

“These people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives.”

Nearly eight years ago, the Dali was involved in an accident. In July 2016, it struck a quay at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium, damaging the quay.

The nautical commission investigated the accident, but the details of the inquiry were not immediately clear Tuesday.

The Dali is operated and managed by Synergy Group. In a statement, the company said that two port pilots were at the helm during Tuesday's crash and that all 22 crew members onboard were accounted for.

The Dali was chartered by the Danish shipping giant Maersk, which said it would have no choice but to send its ships to other nearby ports with the Port of Baltimore closed.

The bridge, which is about a mile and a half long and carries Interstate 695 over the Patapsco River southeast of Baltimore, was "fully up to code," Moore said.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said that her agency will lead the investigation and that a data recorder on the ship could provide more information.

"But right now we're focusing on the people, on the families," she said. "The rest can wait."

President Joe Biden vowed to rebuild the bridge and send federal funds.

"This is going to take some time," the president warned. "The people of Baltimore can count on us though to stick with them, at every step of the way, till the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt."

Speaking in Baltimore, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg echoed the president's promise.

"This is no ordinary bridge," he said. "This is one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure."

But Buttigieg warned that replacing the bridge and reopening the port will take time and money and that it could affect supply chains.

The Port of Baltimore, the 11th largest in the U.S., is the busiest port for car imports and exports, handling more than 750,000 vehicles in 2023 alone, according to data from the Maryland Port Administration.

Writer David Simon, a champion of Baltimore who set his TV crime drama "The Wire" on the streets of the city he once covered as a reporter, warned online that the people who will suffer the most are those whose livelihoods depend on the port.

"Thinking first of the people on the bridge," Simon posted on X . "But the mind wanders to a port city strangling. All the people who rely on ships in and out."

Timeline of crash

Dramatic video captured the moment at 1:28 a.m. Tuesday when the Dali struck a support and sent the bridge tumbling into the water. A livestream showed cars and trucks on the bridge just before the strike. The ship did not sink, and its lights remained on.

Investigators said in a timeline that the Dali's lights suddenly shut off four minutes earlier before they came back on and that then, at 1:25 a.m. dark black smoke began billowing from the ship's chimney.

A minute later, at 1:26 a.m., the ship appeared to turn. And in the minutes before it slammed into the support, the lights flickered again.

Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said the workers on the bridge were repairing concrete ducts when the ship crashed into the structure.

At least seven workers were pouring concrete to fix potholes on the roadway on the bridge directly above where the ship hit, said James Krutzfeldt, a foreman.

Earlier, the Coast Guard said it had received a report that a “motor vessel made impact with the bridge” and confirmed it was the Dali, a containership sailing under a Singaporean flag that was heading for Sri Lanka.

Bobby Haines, who lives in Dundalk in Baltimore County, said he felt the impact of the bridge collapse from his house nearby.

"I woke up at 1:30 this morning and my house shook, and I was freaking out," he said. "I thought it was an earthquake, and to find out it was a bridge is really, really scary."

Families of bridge workers wait for updates

Earlier in the day, relatives of the construction crew waited for updates on their loved ones.

Marian Del Carmen Castellon told Telemundo her husband, Miguel Luna, 49, was working on the bridge.

“They only tell us that we have to wait and that they can’t give us information,” she said.

Castellon said she was "devastated, devastated because our heart is broken, because we don’t know how they have been rescued yet. We are just waiting for the news."

Luna's co-worker Jesús Campos said he felt crushed, too.

“It hurts my heart to see what is happening. We are human beings, and they are my folks,” he said.

Campos told The Baltimore Banner that the missing men are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

Active search and rescue ends

The Coast Guard said it was suspending the active search-and-rescue effort at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

"Coast Guard’s not going away, none of our partners are going away, but we’re just going to transition into a different phase," Gilreath said at a news conference.

Maryland State Police Superintendent Roland L. Butler, Jr., said it was moving to a recovery operation. Changing conditions have made it dangerous for divers, he said. 

Butler pledged to "do our very best to recover those six missing people," but the conditions are difficult.

"If we look at how challenging it is at a simple motor vehicle crash to extract an individual, I'm sure we can all imagine how much harder it is to do it in inclement weather, when it's cold, under the water, with very limited to no visibility," he said.

"There's a tremendous amount of debris in the water," which can include sharp metal and other hazards, and that could take time, Butler said.

'A long road in front of us'

Built in 1977 and referred to locally as the Key Bridge, the structure was later named after the author of the American national anthem.

The bridge is more than 8,500 feet long, or 1.6 miles. Its main section spans 1,200 feet, and it was one of the longest continuous truss bridges in the world upon its completion, according to the National Steel Bridge Alliance .

About 31,000 vehicles a day use the bridge, which equals 11.3 million vehicles per year, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

The river and the Port of Baltimore are both key to the shipping industry on the East Coast, generating more than $3.3 billion a year and directly employing more than 15,000 people.

Asked what people in Baltimore can expect going forward, the state's transportation secretary said it is too early to tell.

"Obviously we reached out to a number of engineering companies, so obviously we have a long road in front of us," Wiedefeld said.

Julia Jester reported from Baltimore, Patrick Smith from London, Corky Siemaszko from New York and Phil Helsel from Los Angeles.

Julia Jester is a producer for NBC News based in Washington, D.C.

Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

Phil Helsel is a reporter for NBC News.

Corky Siemaszko is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital.