Car Ferries News

Because there are so many different kinds of passenger vessels, the critical topic of passenger safety can sometimes appear as a set of niche topics, each one just distantly connected to another. After all, passengers aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean face safety issues that are much different than a commuter going from Jersey City to Manhattan or a tourist crossing from the Mukilteo, Wash. ferry terminal to Whidbey Island or a family on a fishing vessel in Miami.Importantly, though, for passenger vessel operators, a commitment to safety is not siloed.

With travel and tourism nearing pre-2020 levels, and transit systems benefiting from a return to work, passenger vessels have seen renewed activity. In its year-end review, John Groundwater, Executive Director of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA), which advocates for the sector in Washington, D.C. wrote: “As we are nearing the end of the calendar year, we are delighted to report that our industry, and our members, are reporting far and wide that they have experienced very…

Great Lakes ferry operator Miller Boat Line announced it has received grant funding from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will help it to reduce diesel emissions from its vessels.The $239,339 grant will cover approximately 40% of the replacement cost for seven (model year 1982-1996) diesel generator sets with Northern Lights model M50T13L generators on four ferries, the Ohio-based company said.The ferry Islander will receive one new genset, and Put-in Bay, William Market and South Bass will each receive two.

Finnish ship designer Deltamarin said it has signed a contract with Oy Fennorail Ltd for conceptual design of a train ferry capable of carrying both train and truck cargo.The so-called EUROCARRIER train ferry is being engineered to connect Finland to the European TEN-T railway networks and create a connection across Eastern Europe to Central Europe and the Mediterranean. Approximately 400,000 trucks per year, or almost 1,100 trucks per day travel on car ferries between Finland and Estonia.

ABB announced it has secured an order from Polish shipbuilder Remontowa Shiprepair Yard S.A. to supply integrated power, automation and propulsion solutions to three large passenger and car ferries to operate in the Baltic Sea. The 195-meter-long ferries will each have capacity for up to 400 passengers and 200 trucks and will be delivered to the Polish ferry company Polskie Promy one apiece in 2025, 2026 and 2027.The "large" order was booked in the first quarter of 2022, ABB said.

Alternatives to fossil fuels are emerging throughout the maritime universe, and vessels working in U.S. rivers, waterways and harbors are at the cusp on this trend. While the alternative fuels spectrum is wide, battery power and electrification—a technology that has seen a decade of shipboard applications already—is particularly suited for smaller vessels.Crowley Maritime Corp will be taking delivery of a completely electric tugboat, dubbed eWolf; the boat- which will include kit for advanced vessel control tied to an electric propulsion system from ABB…

Interlake Holding Company announced today the purchase of the assets of Pere Marquette Shipping Company and Lake Michigan Car Ferry Company in an acquisition that includes two working Great Lakes vessels, the articulated tug-barge Undaunted-Pere Marquette 41 and the historic passenger-and-car ferry S.S. Badger.The acquisition signals the creation of a new business entity, Interlake Maritime Services, which will manage the new businesses along with The Interlake Steamship Company…

Ballard Power Systems has launched what it says is the fuel cell industry's first module designed for primary propulsion power in marine vessels. Ballard's says its FCwave fuel cell product is a 200-kilowatt (kW) modular unit that can be scaled in series up to the multi-megawatt (MW) power level.The FCwave product provides primary propulsion power for marine vessels – such as passenger and car ferries, river push boats, and fishing boats – as well as stationary electrical power…

Mitsubishi Turbocharger and Engine America (MTEA) has appointed Cascade Engine Center, located in Seattle, as its marine engine division's new West Coast distributor effective August 11, 2020Cascade Engine Center will have responsibility for Alaska, Washington State, Oregon, California and Hawaii.“The addition of the Mitsubishi Heavy Duty engine lineup to Cascade Engine Center will complement our current commercial engine business, allowing us to support most commercial marine applications on the West Coast,” stated Tim A.

Danish shipyard Hvide Sande Shipyard, Steel & Service has selected Canadian-based Corvus Energy to supply the energy storage system (ESS) for a new fully electric ferry for Molslinjen, the largest domestic ferry company in Denmark.The new ferry, designed by JJohannesson Maritime Engineering and OSK-ShipTech, will be the second all-electric ferry in Denmark. Its 12-minute trip between Fanø and Esbjerg is very popular; last year the ferries in operation carried 1.8 million passengers in total.

Finnish shipbuilding company Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) and Australian TT-Line Company have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on two fast car and passenger ferries.The Project will have an impact on employment totalling around 3,500 person-years, and the construction work will start at the beginning of 2021, said a press release from the company specialized in constructing car ferries, icebreakers and naval vessels.”We are proud and grateful of the trust TT-Line Company has shown us. We believe that with this new partnership, we can serve our customer in a way that results in a world-class car and passenger ferry solution for TT-Line Company’s business.

Portugal’s Navalrocha shipyard said it has completed a multimillion-euro repair and refit project for Dubai-based marine geophysical company Polarcus.The drydock project which completed in January 2020 involved a broad package of work to the ultra-modern 14 streamer 3D/4D seismic vessel – Polarcus Naila.The vessel is environmentally advanced with diesel-electric propulsion, high specification catalytic converters, a double hull and advanced bilge water cleaning system.“The Polarcus Naila visited Navalrocha shipyard for a total of 33-days running through the Christmas period…

The Amherst Islander II, a Damen Road Ferry 6819 E3, was launched on November 14 at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania.Amherst Islander II is part of a two vessel order that Damen will deliver to the Ministry of Transportation Ontario. The E3 ferries will be among the first passenger/car ferries in North America with the ability to operate fully electric and promise to reduce the amount of emissions by the equivalent of 7 million kg of carbon dioxide each year.With an overall length of close to 72 meters and a loading capacity of up to 42 cars, the Amherst Islander II is the smaller of the two.

Corvus Energy has announced that the company has been selected by Norwegian Electric Systems (NES) to supply lithium ion battery-based energy storage systems (ESS) for five new all-electric ferries being built by Havyard for Norwegian ferry operator Fjord1.Corvus Energy provides battery power to more ferries than all other providers of energy storage systems combined. Beginning with the first zero-emission ferry, Ampere, Corvus Energy’s ESSs have now been selected for over 40…

Shoaling shifts NCDOT’s propulsion needs, prompting a sea change. Thrustmaster waterjets step in to carry the day. In Swansboro, N.C., boatbuilder U.S. Workboats (formerly Armstrong Marine) is assembling the linchpin of the North Carolina Department of Transport’s (NCDOT) business plan for its future Outer Banks ferry services. Separately, in both Hatteras and Ocracoke, crews are preparing to break ground on new parking additions and visitor facilities. The Ocracoke Express passenger ferry project – made necessary by the shifting and unpredictable shoaling on North Carolina’s Outer Banks – will, starting this summer, change forever the way tourists and visitors get to and from these national treasures.

Havyard Group will be delivering the design for seven battery-powered ferries to Norwegian transportation company Fjord1, five of which will be built at the company’s own shipyard. Havyard and Fjord1 will thereby continue their partnership to achieve a green revolution on the Norwegian fjords. With this contract, Havyard Group has orders for 13 battery ferries at its own yard and has sold 12 battery ferry designs. "We have put the ferries in operation by using advanced simulation tools, this way we could optimize them to the outmost. Various operating profiles have been tested and reviewed, and we have achieved results that have made Fjord 1 choose us as contractor for designs, says Stig Magne Espeseth head of Havyard Design & Solutions.," said a statement.

A federal FASTLANE grant has been approved for S.S. Badger Ports & Harbor project impacting Manitowoc, Wis. and Ludington, Mich. A primer on how things get done. This is a story about two communities on the shores of Lake Michigan and the unique car ferry that connects them. The SS Badger provides a nautical “highway” across one of our nation’s major waterways, carrying passengers, oversized loads and trucks of nearly every kind. Essentially, the ferry provides a vital lifeline of commerce, tourism and economic growth between the cities of Manitowoc, Wis. and Ludington, Mich.

By combining existing technologies in a new way, it is possible to build ferries that represent a quantum leap for the environment. That is the idea behind a new R&D project involving four major players in the maritime sector: Rolls-Royce, Color Line, Norled and the Norwegian Coastal Administration. The project has now received a NOK 5.9 million grant from the Research Council of Norway’s ENERGIX program. The ‘Zero Emission Ferry’ project is intended to result in a new electrical system that not only provides more efficient power output and stable operations…

John Hunter, P.E. has been hired by Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI) as the firm's most recent addition to its naval architecture and marine engineering practice. Hunter joins BHGI as a Senior Naval Architect. He holds a B.S. in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Michigan located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Washington. He is also a member and a past chairman of the New England section of Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME).

RSC Bio Solutions, a provider of high performance Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) - hydraulic fluids, gear oils and greases - and industrial cleaners and solvents, said it has received OEM approvals for use in Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ Controllable Pitch Propellers (CPP) and side thrusters. The RSC EnviroLogic HF 68 HP was approved for use in Kawasaki Controllable Pitch Propellers (CPP). RSC EnviroLogic HF 68 HP is a high performance, readily biodegradable, synthetic ISO 68 grade hydraulic fluid. Intended for use in severe conditions, including extreme high temperatures (250°F / 121°C), low temperatures (-40°F / -40°C) and high pressure (5000+ psi / 34…

Gulfstream Shipbuilding’s Custom Aluminum Ferry: U.S. Department of Homeland Security awards Ferry Contract for vessel built specifically for Eastern Coastal Waters. In December, Gulfstream Shipbuilding was awarded a contract through the United States Department of Homeland Security for a passenger/vehicle ferry to service New York and Connecticut waters. This crew boat-style vessel will be capable of transporting passengers, freight and vehicles in and around the waters of the Eastern Long Island Sound and Gardiner’s Bay. The vessel has an expected delivery date of April 2017.

Gulfstream Shipbuilding welcomes James Murray, a second generation boat builder and operator/owner, to the Sales Management Team. James is the son of Jim Murray, who originally opened the shipyard 35 years ago as Freeport Shipbuilding. James built a variety of custom boats at the shipyard before venturing off to start his own successful passenger excursion company. Now, James returns to partner with the current owner Stuart Reeves on a new generation of custom shipbuilding. “James exhibits the same passions and values that his father instilled on this company 35 years ago…

The fuel cell company PowerCell Sweden AB (publ) has received the first marine order for two PowerCell S3 prototype stacks, which Swiss Hydrogen will install on a ship powered by photovoltaics. “The marine industry is a very interesting area, in which our capacity to deliver electricity without emissions is extremely important. This order comprises two PowerCell S3 prototypes. The order is of strategic importance, but has a limited effect on the result. We are responsible for the fuel cells and Swiss Hydrogen will manufacture the system and conduct adjustments to certify it for the marine environment. The advantage is that our fuel cell stacks are modular and in this way we can get in a few hundred horsepower where it is required in marine applications”…