Maritime Partners, LLC, New Orleans, a provider of maritime financing solutions focused on Jones Act vessels, announced a sale-leaseback refinancing of the novel hydrogen-powered passenger ferry Sea Change, developed by SWITCH Maritime LLC.
The transaction marks Maritime Partners’ entry into the ferry sector, and the first in a partnership between Maritime Partners and SWITCH focused on bringing next-generation technology and financing solutions to the aging U.S. ferry fleet.
“This partnership demonstrates Maritime Partners’ continued commitment to innovation and to expanding our financing solutions into more critical transportation segments of the maritime industry that require capital to renew and future-proof their fleets,” said Dave Lee, VP of Technology & Innovation at Maritime Partners.
In 2024, Sea Change, a 70’, 75-passenger ferry and SWITCH’s first vessel, began commercial operation in San Francisco Bay. Built by All American Marine, Bellingham, Wash., based on a design that originates from Incat Crowther, Sydney, Australia, the vessel is powered by 360 kW of hydrogen fuel cells, alongside a 100-kWh lithium-ion battery.
SWITCH expects to use the proceeds of the refinancing deal to complete engineering and support the next-phase build cycle, with zero-emission vessels that can meet the same size and performance as the diesel vessels needing replacement in major U.S. markets, such as San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, and New York City.
“We’re excited to build on the foundation that we’ve established with the Sea Change and start our next build cycle,” said Pace Ralli, CEO at SWITCH Maritime. “Core to advancing our mission is being able to finance projects on the leading edge of the technology adoption curve, and our partnership and strategic alignment with Maritime Partners helps accelerate that growth trajectory.”
Leveraging technological learnings and regulatory frameworks from its first 75-passenger ferry, SWITCH is bringing nearly complete 150- and 300-passenger catamaran fast ferry designs, as well as a larger steel-hull RoPax ferry design, to the U.S. market to help replace aging diesel vessels.
According to the companies, recent data shows there are more than 800 ferries in the U.S. that are all suitable to be transitioned to electric propulsion, powered by batteries and/or hydrogen fuel cells. The technology is generally applicable to commercial harbor craft, and SWITCH says there are approximately 4,400 vessels that are suitable for upgrade to zero emissions.
SWITCH specializes in providing existing operators easier and lower-risk ways to adopt next-gen vessels into their fleets by offering a vessel lease along with support services for fueling, crew training, maintenance, and more.
“The Sea Change demonstrates the viability of the technology in commercial operation as part of the public San Francisco Bay Ferry system, paving the way for future deployments,” according to the partners.
“We are impressed by the SWITCH team’s ability to successfully execute on difficult design, construction, and regulatory challenges, and their work is very complementary to our work in larger vessel types, such as our projects with e1 Marine. Maritime Partners is here to support the expansion of SWITCH’s fleet of next-generation vessels with financing solutions for U.S. and global ferry operators,” said Austin Sperry, co-founder and president of Maritime Partners.
