Shortly after the attacks on the
World Trade Center on
September 11, 2001, the boat's owners asked FDNY officials for permission to assist in
maritime evacuations from
Ground Zero. Meanwhile, firefighters had determined that the vast scale of destruction had damaged many fire mains, depriving fire crews of water. Officials radioed
John J. Harvey, asking if her pumps still worked. Responding that they did, she was told to drop off her passengers as soon as possible and return to the disaster site, reactivating her official designation
Marine 2. Alongside two other FDNY fireboats, and , she pumped water at the site for 80 hours, until water mains were restored. The
National Trust for Historic Preservation gave
John J. Harvey a special National Preservation Award to recognize this incident, and the ship's response became the subject of a 2002
children's book. == Recent history ==