In a bid to save fuel and reduce emissions, the Staten Island Ferry will convert a boat to run on liquified natural gas sometime this year, a move that will halve fuel consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent.
According to the Staten Island Advance, an Austen-class ferry — either the Alice Austen or John A. Noble, the two smallest ferries — will be converted from low-sulfur diesel to LNG during routine drydocking.
The conversion is a pilot program funded through a $2.3 million federal grant and $3 million from the city. It's part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's PlaNYC effort to address climate change and prepare the city for 1 million more residents. If things go well, other ferries may follow suit.
Depending on when it sets sail, the vessel may be the first LNG-powered ferry in the country, or even in North America: In December, power-plant manufacturer Wärtsilä announced it had been awarded the first contract to develop a propulsion system for an LNG-powered ferry that will start crossing the St. Lawrence River in Quebec near the end of 2014.
Already, ferries powered by LNG are either in service or under construction in Argentina, Uruguay, Finland and Sweden. They're gaining in popularity due to the lower cost of natural gas and -- in the case of European Union countries -- stricter environmental regulations which limit the amount of sulfur that's acceptable in maritime fuels.
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is also examining LNG conversion, and has received Coast Guard approval to retrofit six of the ferries that sail around Puget Sound. Since fuel costs account for around 30 percent of WSF's operating budget, switching to LNG trucked in from around the Pacific Northwest will bring significant cost savings.
One Norwegian ferry operator is also planning to launch two new ferries this year that operate solely on liquified natural gas (LNG), though both are much larger than any boat traversing New York Harbor or the St. Lawrence: The MS Stavangerfjord, the first of the two ships, is currently under construction and is expected to launch in April. When it does, it'll be the largest LNG-powered cruise ferry on earth, and join more than 15 other, smaller LNG-powered ferries in Norway.
Photo: Flickr/Sheriffaj
