2009 Environmental Initiative Award Nominees
The following are excerpts from the nominees’ submissions.
Alcatraz Cruises, LLC
In March 2009, Alcatraz Cruises began ferrying passengers to Alcatraz and Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay on the Hornblower Hybrid. The revolutionary Hornblower Hybrid uses a combination of energy from solar, wind, grid electric and Tier 2 diesel generators. Unlike conventional ferryboats that burn 30 gallons of fuel per hour, the Hornblower Hybrid burns 5.8 gallons per hour saving 29,000 gallons of fuel per year. By reusing a diving vessel, 735,000 KWh of electricity were also saved in the construction of the hybrid. This environmentally progressive vessel showcases the potential power of alternative energy sources when they are combined with creative engineering solutions.
Foss Maritime Company
The world’s first hybrid harbor tug, built, owned and operated by Foss is now operating in San Pedro harbor. Conventional tug engines can be optimized only at a single point: near full power. However, tugs spend the majority of their time at less than 25% power. The hybrid system combines smaller diesel engines with electric propulsion motors and batteries. The boat has the flexibility to operate in direct-diesel, and electric configurations and delivers 5,080 horsepower and over 60 tons of bollard pull. This technology reduces all forms of pollution because it reduces fuel consumption and allows more efficient combustion.
Marine Oil Service, Inc.
The construction and operation of the double hulled tanker exceeds the requirements set forth by the federal government as outlined in Oil Pollution Act of 1990. Specifically, all vessels carrying petroleum oil as cargo must be double hull construction by the year 2015. “Rolf Williams” was placed in service October 2005, ten years ahead of the federal mandate. Two additional tankers were placed into service in 2008 and 2009. Both of these vessels are equipped with the Tier II engines that meet the EPA’s new emission standards.
McGinnis, Inc.
McGinnis, Inc. made substantial investments constructing their environmentally friendly blast and paint facility in Lawrence County, Ohio. This fully contained facility will stand alone as state of the art for years to come. Using I-beams for track supports reduced the area of impact to the river bottom by 99.5%, dust collectors with a filter rate of 99.9% efficiency, dry paint filters with a control efficiency of 99% for particulate emissions (PE) are a few of the environmental innovations applied during construction. Just another example of the extra lengths McGinnis Inc. will
go to pioneer the Inland Marine Industry.
Metropolitan Water Reclamation, District of Greater Chicago
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s pollution control boats patrol the Chicago area’s navigable inland waterways, providing water quality sampling in an environmentally responsible manner. The District’s staff makes every attempt to reduce fuel consumption and pollution and thereby reduce the carbon footprint of the sampling process.
Port of Seattle
The Port of Seattle’s At-Berth Clean Fuels Program will help meet the goals of the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy, a joint effort by the ports of Seattle, Tacoma and Port Metro Vancouver, BC to reduce maritime related air emissions. Vessels participating in this voluntary program use low sulfur fuel (0.5 percent or less) in their auxiliary engines while docked in Seattle. The shippers are provided a $1500 incentive for each port call. Since its January 2009 start, 152 participating vessel visits have been made, by eight carriers resulting in sulfur dioxide emission reductions of more than 31 Metric Tons.
Southern Towing Company
In 1997, Southern Towing Company contracted with Shearer & Associates, Inc. to design a better class of towboats. The concept was to apply the latest equipment and design technology to create a very unique, efficient, and environmentally friendly towboat. The major deviation from conventional designs was the incorporation of aximuthing stern drives. This would give the new design much more maneuverability due to the directed thrust of the Z-Drives, more efficient propulsion due to the elimination of the drag of rudders and less cost of installation and maintenance due to the elimination of shafting, reduction gears, rudders, hydraulic systems and such. The design of the vessels included many innovations and equipment inclusions to provide a work-friendly, environmentally safety, and efficient towboat.