Page 24: of Marine News Magazine (January 2015)

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COLUMN BOATBUILDING

Ferry Fixation

The good, the bad and the ugly: it all adds up to the global effort to strengthen bottom lines, safety margins and the collective environmental footprint.

By Joe Hudspeth

The future for ferries seems to be on F FERRY URY ? re; both in good ways and bad. The The fury of ferry fabrication also happens to come at a good is always a good place to start. time when ferry design and ferry safety is under ? re. Punch-

And, that’s because it is ferry fabrication ing just about anything ferry related into an internet search time. The most notable ferry routes in browser of your choice will quickly yield reminders of the

America are jumping into the construc- tragic Sewol ferry disaster that claimed over 300 lives. As tion queue for new vessels and soon the this column goes to print, the news of at least 129 bodies next generation of ferry vessels will be being recovered from a capsized ferry in the Congo is also hitting the piers (not literally of course). From the North- just being revealed. Sadly, ferry tragedies of this kind are west to the Northeast, construction plans are not calling not rare occurrences and poor ferry design, maintenance, for more of the same, rather new classes of ferries are un- and operation often makes the difference between death der design and in production. The Steamship Authority and life. The Worldwide Ferry Safety Association (WFSA) (Woods Hole), Washington State Ferries, and Alaska Ma- has initiated a grassroots effort to introduce safe and af- rine Highways are all expecting new car ferries. The San fordable ferry designs for problematic routes around the

Francisco Bay Ferry (WETA), Massachusetts Bay Trans- world. Each year, naval architecture students from univer- portation Authority (Boston), King County Ferry District sities spanning the globe, participate in WFSA’s ferry de- (Seattle), Hampton Roads Transit (Norfolk), and Staten sign competition in which a comprehensive vessel design

Island Ferries will soon be receiving new passenger ferries and feasibility study is submitted based upon the featured on their routes. This is truly big news, as ferry construction route. A student team from Memorial University in New- has been furloughed for far too long. foundland won the 2014 competition with a new design

King County Ferry District is set to take delivery of the very ? rst ferry of 2015, the Sally Fox, as part of their water taxi service in Seattle, Washington.

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