Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB), Freeland, Wash., held a keel-laying ceremony for the first of two 400-passenger battery-electric ferries under construction for San Francisco Bay Ferry.
The 142'1"x34'9" Subchapter K aluminum catamarans are being constructed under the agency’s Rapid Electric Emission Free (REEF) Ferry Program, which aims to transition the fleet to zero-emission propulsion technology.
The ferries will operate at 25 knots on central Bay routes, connecting Oakland and Alameda with San Francisco. The series' first vessel is scheduled to be delivered in 2028.
The vessels will each feature four independent azimuthing Hydromaster Series E propulsion units with 625-kW drives and a modular, scalable 1,603-kWh Echandia energy storage system. Charging infrastructure will include MCS charging at a total of 5 MW, a DC grid, and DC conversion technology.
The vessels will recharge through custom-designed electric charging floats, which also serve as boarding pathways during passenger loading and unloading.
Incat Crowther is leading vessel design, with electrical engineering support from Ockerman Automation Consulting. Wärtsilä North America is serving as the electrical propulsion system integrator.
In December, another shipbuilder, All American Marine, Bellingham, Wash., held a keel-laying ceremony for the first of up to four 150-passenger all-electric passenger vessels it is constructing for San Francisco Bay Ferry.
San Francisco Bay Ferry is also repowering its 400-passenger Hydrus-class vessels to run on electric propulsion.
