Mavrik Marine Inc., La Conner, Wash., announced it has been chosen to construct a new series of high-speed passenger ferries for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District, operator of the Golden Gate Ferry system.
The new catamaran ferries, which are being built as part of the agency’s eight-vessel Liwa-class ferry replacement program, will operate on San Francisco Bay, where the district conducts about 20,000 crossings annually, moving approximately 2 million passengers.
The 164' aluminum vessels were designed by Aurora Marine Design, San Diego, with structural design from One2Three Naval Architects, Pyrmont, Australia. Each vessel will carry 500 passengers and 75 bicycles and will feature an ADA-compliant elevator, snack bar, and indoor and outdoor seating.
Construction will begin immediately, with one vessel scheduled for delivery each year starting at the end of 2027.
The ferries are being built to comply with California Air Resources Board emissions standards and are designed to cruise at 39 knots.
Each ferry will feature six MAN D2862 1,066-kW EPA Tier 4 engines paired with Marine Exhaust Systems diesel particulate filters and selective catalytic reduction exhaust filter modules. Propulsion will come from six HamiltonJet HTX52 waterjets, driven through Driveline Services of Portland carbon shafts.
DanFoss gear-driven generators connected to Reintjes hybrid gearboxes supplied by Karl Senner LLC will replace traditional diesel generators. Electrical storage will be supplied by Echandia, and McKay will provide electrical outfitting along with alarm and monitoring systems.
Bailey Shewchuk, president of Mavrik Marine, said the shipyard’s recent delivery of four high-speed ferries to San Francisco Bay Ferry helped the company secure the new contract.
“The district specified several key components they wanted integrated into the vessel, all designed to maximize efficiency and improve maintainability," said Shewchuk. "Our recent vessel deliveries were key in demonstrating our capabilities, and every vessel we’ve built has been a great sales reference for us.”
