Sooty vessels try to turn green
With pollution in ports a key contributor to US emissions, ferries and other harbor vessels look for new ways to operate.
from the June 7, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
For some, the EPA standards are only a starting point. For example, the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority has contracted for two ferries that are required to be 85 percent better than the EPA requirement. On Wednesday, it asked boat builders to bid on yet two more of the vessels.
The authority is leaving it up to boat builders to find the best way to reduce emissions. "If they don't meet the standards, we reject them," says Mary Culnane, manager of marine engineering for the authority.
Washington State, which operates the largest ferry system in the US, will switch over to ultralow sulfur diesel fuel by the end of this year. In the past, it tried using biodiesel but found its fuel filters were getting clogged very quickly, says Jonathan Olds, environmental program manager for Washington State Ferries.
"We're beginning a study to find out what went wrong and hope by the beginning of next year to have the biodiesel back on the ferries," says Mr. Olds. "One of the things we hope to come out of this is maritime biodiesel standards."
In Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Water Taxi Inc., which builds such vessels, is producing the maritime equivalent of an automobile hybrid. "Initially, we wanted a pure hybrid situation using high-tech batteries," says Bob Bekoff, the president. But after almost all those scenarios failed, he's shifted over to a combination of diesel and battery power. The fuel savings are about 50 percent, estimates Mr. Bekoff.
In March, Seattle-based Foss Maritime Co. said it would build the first hybrid tugboat. The vessel will work in southern California as part of a plan to clean up air quality at Los Angeles-area ports.
But the most unusual-looking vessels are probably the hybrids for the Statue of Liberty, which are designed to use solar and wind energy as well as diesel.
RSS feed