Odd, Seeing That Marine Vessels Are Frequently Personified As Female . . .

Until recently, the ferries that run back and forth between St. George and the Battery did not have a women’s locker room, which, until recently, wasn’t a big concern:

Part navigator, part security guard, part enforcer and part salty sea dog, Felicia Rosario, a petite and pretty 23-year-old from Queens, tends to forget that some passengers might not be used to seeing a female mate aboard the Staten Island Ferry.

With a year and a half under her belt at the Ferry, the veteran captains, mates and deckhands she works with say she’s part of the family — one of the guys.

But it’s the frequent “you go, girl” comments from passengers or the men who “look at me like I have three heads” that remind her that, to some, finding a woman with her job description is still a novelty.

“I get so many ‘girl powers,’ like I’m doing some great thing for womanhood. I don’t really see it that way. It’s just work.”

A graduate of State University of New York Maritime College, she majored in marine environmental science.

After a turn as a crew member on dinner cruise boats in New York Harbor, she came to the Ferry. She is now one of four female ferry mates.

. . .

The afternoons are full of tourists, but even though they’re a “headache,” with constant questions of “can we stay on the boat?” upon docking when all passengers must disembark, and a surprising number who lose their children, she would gladly cope with that in favor of her last assignment — the overnight shift on the weekend boats.

That shift, she said, is famous for “a lot of vomit and obscenities,” and the occasional “man overboard” checks, especially around the holidays.

“Compared to that, everything is roses,” she said.

Ms. Rosario may be “one of the guys,” but it’s still nice to have her own digs.

Her favorite boats are the new Marchi-class vessels that contain a luxury not afforded on the others — a female locker room.

“You can’t beat that,” she said.

And even in her uniform, she still manages to keep one girly touch — under the black gloves she wears to pull the heavy hooks that secure the boats to the slip is an engagement ring from her fiance, who is currently at sea aboard a container ship.

Location Scout: Staten Island Ferry.