JT Marine Inc., Vancouver, Wash., has marked the keel laying of San Francisco Bay Ferry’s first universal charging float, part of the operator’s infrastructure program for its planned battery-electric ferry fleet.
Designed by Aurora Marine Design, San Diego, Calif., the float will house charging equipment and battery storage to support all-electric vessels expected to arrive over the next two years, SF Bay Ferry said in a LinkedIn announcement.
The project is part of SF Bay Ferry’s Rapid Electric Emission-Free (REEF) Ferry Program. The charging floats will allow vessels to take on energy during passenger loading and unloading, supporting the turnaround times needed for scheduled service.
The design places power conversion equipment, batteries and vessel charging systems within a float comparable in footprint to existing passenger floats. That arrangement reduces equipment carried aboard the ferries and limits shoreside installations where space, property restrictions and environmental requirements can complicate construction.
SF Bay Ferry said the battery storage will reduce power demand and operating costs. In a presentation posted by the California Energy Commission, the agency outlined rapid charging at 5 MW over approximately eight to 12 minutes. The universal charging floats are designed to meet the charging requirements of its larger, 400-passenger electric ferries.
SF Bay Ferry’s board approved a $47 million contract award to JT Marine in October 2025 for two charging floats, with an option for a third. The first two floats were planned for Gate G at the Downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal and Alameda’s Seaplane Lagoon terminal. Terminal installation was excluded from the shipyard agreement and planned under separate contracts.
The infrastructure work accompanies construction of three 150-passenger battery-electric ferries, with an option for a fourth at All American Marine, Bellingham, Wash., and two 400-passenger battery-electric ferries at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Freeland, Wash. Agency schedules call for the first vessels in both classes to arrive in 2027.
