Page 49: of Marine News Magazine (November 2021)

48 50

Feature

Electri? cation

Damen is building BC Ferries’ hybrid-electric Island Class vessels in Romania

Damen Shipyards Group most of the harbors in North America likely require new regulatory or mar- partnership among Crowley, the San right now, you can’t get the amperage ket-based incentives, similar to those Diego County Air Pollution Control that you need in order to charge those emerging in other economic sectors District, the California Air Resources batteries in a reasonable time frame.” around the globe, in order to make Board, the Port of San Diego, the

American Bureau of Shipping decarbonization economically vi- U.S. Environmental Protection Agen- (ABS), in conjunction with a team able.” This is borne out in Crowley’s cy and the U.S. Maritime Administra- from Vanderbilt University, published eWolf announcement, where they of- tion, which all provided ? nancial sup- a report, “Decarbonization of the In- fer that “the eTug will be a result of a port and other resources.” land Waterway Sector in the United

States – Pathways and Challenges to a

Zero-carbon Freight Future”. Though the study’s focus concerns vessels serv- ing inland waterways (with Vander- bilt, situated in Nashville, having close ties with the local towboat own- ing community), a relevant ? nding is that the ubiquitous “? eet boats”, with wait times built into their daily work streams, are ideally suited for battery power. “The characteristics associated with Sustainability drivers of inland waterway ? eet boats are similar for certain segments of the harbor tug market,” said Roy Bleiberg, ABS vice president, North America regional business development.

With alternative energy still ex- pensive, in many cases, compared to conventional fuels, the transition to electric (and other) power sources will not happen on its own. The ABS/

Vanderbilt report noted, “Decarbon- izing the inland waterway sector will www.marinelink.com MN 49|