FERRY VESSELS: Facing up to a World of Challenges

CEO Mike Corrigan outlines Interferry’s mountain of objectives – including a game-changing campaign to keep ferries front and center in reducing GHG emissions.

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Interferry’s origins stem from the launch of a knowledge-sharing US networking initiative in 1976.  Those relatively modest roots have grown beyond recognition into a highly respected global trade association with membership exceeding 270 companies – operators and suppliers – in more than 40 countries.      

We have consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and similar influence with many more of the world’s maritime governance authorities. As the voice of the ferry community, the association acts on a huge range of regulatory and policy issues that feature in our 2024-2026 Strategic Plan and which also set the theme for our 48th annual conference held in Marrakech, Morocco, last October – Safety, Security and Sustainability.

Environmental sustainability represents the ferry sector’s most immediate challenge. Replacing fossil fuels with alternative energy sources is crucial to meeting the ultra-demanding IMO target of a 20-30% cut in maritime GHG emissions by 2030 – the prelude to net zero by 2050.  
Electrification offers an unrivalled solution for ferries. With typical crossings lasting between 30 minutes and two hours, ferry operators are already the prime trailblazers in adopting battery-based propulsion. However, the long-term future of their pioneering energy transition depends overwhelmingly on the urgent expansion of Onshore Power Supply (OPS).        

Interferry has been lobbying governments, port authorities and electricity suppliers to prioritize OPS development for the past two years. Intensifying this campaign will be among our foremost objectives in 2025. The potential emissions savings are massive due to the worldwide scale of passenger and freight ferry services. At the last count, annual carryings totalled some 4.3 billion passengers – on par with airlines – as well as 373 million vehicles.

Currently, OPS deployment often lags up to ten years behind shipboard battery installations … and most existing facilities cater only for ‘cold ironing’ consumption at berth. Our lobbying notes that increasing capacity to enable charging of propulsion batteries will reduce the GHG footprint of ferries and ease demand for the limited supplies of alternative fuels. We also stress that governments should reinvest a sizeable portion of revenues from carbon tax schemes in OPS provision.  

Lack of sufficient landside electricity infrastructure has inhibited further orders for full-electric or hybrid ships for far too long, but now there are growing signs of change in Europe and not least, North America. San Francisco Bay Ferry Systems operator WETA – the Water Emergency Transportation Authority – is set to operate the first US battery-powered ferry fleet after securing local, state and federal funding for its Rapid Electric Emission-Free Ferry program, which includes the construction of OPS facilities. An initial five vessels are to be ordered, with the first due to operate in 2026. Elsewhere, Canada’s BC Ferries is pursuing plans to order up to seven hybrid ships – capable of full-electric conversion – due to enter service from 2029-2037 as more OPS comes on stream.    

Interferry is deeply involved in two other issues involving GHG emissions. The IMO’s Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII), which dictates the allowance of fuel burned per nautical mile, is a major concern because a particular ferry’s consumption will be greater on services with a high number of port calls due to operational acceleration and manoeuvring. We have recently proposed a balancing mechanism under which compliance is based on an operator’s fleet average. We are also pushing hard for the IMO High-Speed Craft Code to be replaced by a High Speed and Light Craft Code – because removing the current minimum speed requirement will boost newbuild demand for low emissions lightweight craft.                

Enhancing safety has always been central to Interferry’s lobbying mission. We were participants in the European Union (EU) 2019-2023 FIRE SAFE research project, which highlighted the risks and containment of fires on ro-ro decks. The rapidly increasing market for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) prompted much of the research. Armed with the findings, we are now heavily engaged in the IMO’s development of requirements for the carriage of BEVs. Fundamentally, we will demonstrate that they pose no higher fire risk than combustion-engine vehicles; and furthermore, that a BEV fire can be kept under control by conventional drencher systems.

I am especially proud that Interferry also has a distinguished track record promoting safety in developing nations, which started in 2008 with a pilot scheme in Bangladesh. Our Domestic Safety Committee has since taken this support to new levels. Most recently, following a project in the Philippines in 2019, our attention has turned to Africa. Last April, we and the IMO co-hosted a two-day Africa Ferry Safety Seminar in Tanzania. It was attended by more than 100 pan-African ferry participants and 14 professionals from our worldwide operator and supplier membership. A follow-up workshop took place in October during our conference in Morocco – the first to be held in Africa.  

We aim to create a comprehensive safety program that embraces what was discussed in both sessions.  This includes crew training, proper ticketing to avoid overcrowding, cargo loading and stowage, incident reporting, replacement of old tonnage and the crucial need for political will.

Meanwhile, global geopolitical turmoil has seen security issues zoom into unprecedented focus. The logistics chain is at risk from cyber-attacks on maritime operational technology, while stringent IT-based border controls introduced by the EU raise the prospect of lengthier port calls.  
With such a portfolio of work on the horizon, it’s little wonder that Interferry activity is a journey, not a destination. But our safeguarding of the ferry sector’s interests is assured by the mantra that has fired our growth: we are Stronger Together.