BOATLIFT

Etymology

Noun

boatlift (plural boatlifts)

The (often clandestine) transportation of a large number of people or amount of goods by boat, especially an exodus of people.

(also boat lift) A mechanism for lifting boats from the water, or between water on different elevations.

Verb

boatlift (third-person singular simple present boatlifts, present participle boatlifting, simple past and past participle boatlifted)

(transitive) To transport (a large exodus of people, etc.) by boat.

Source: Wiktionary