SSA budgets for hybrid ferry design work

The Steamship Authority is looking to add a hybrid vessel to its fleet. 

Part of a newly approved capital budget for the ferry line will include nearly $400,000 to go toward design and engineering work for a vessel.

The plans, which were first publicly announced at a board meeting, come after calls from Islanders and other port communities for the ferry line to cut down on emissions.

SSA treasurer Mark Rozum presented a proposed $8.4 million capital projects budget for 2024 during a joint meeting of the SSA board and the Port Council on Tuesday, which authority officials unanimously approved. In the budget, $375,000 will go toward designing and engineering a hybrid vessel. 

Looking farther out, current estimates expect the construction of a new vessel to cost $65 million, with $13 million for converting it into a hybrid vessel. Rozum said that would be 20 percent of the cost of building a brand-new, hybrid vessel.

The money for this and other projects would come from a replacement fund, a capital improvement fund, grants, and a bond redemption account. 

SSA board Martha’s Vineyard representative Jim Malkin asked whether the funding would be sufficient to get a hybrid vessel similar to the passenger ferry Woods Hole. Rozum said that estimates could be changed later, and any projects that cost over $100,000 would come to the board for final approval.

SSA general manager Robert Davis said the figures in the budget are based on the authority working with Elliott Bay Design Group, the Seattle-based firm that designed the Steamship vessel Woods Hole. “Otherwise, you’d be looking at a much larger number,” Davis said. 

Malkin followed up by asking whether a vessel in the style of the Woods Hole was the right choice for a hybrid vessel. SSA COO Mark Higgins said he was comfortable with using it as a base, considering it has a large freight deck. 

“I would make consideration of maybe lengthening the boat 10 feet, and maybe looking at an aluminum superstructure to keep the weight down,” Higgins said, adding that these are details that would be discussed with a naval architect. 

Davis added that the 10-foot increase would also be for improved buoyancy, and to take into account the weight of the battery. This would make the hybrid vessel 245 feet in length. 

Rozum also said that the SSA’s fleet consists of 10 vessels with a lifespan of around 50 years, so every five years the authority should have a replacement plan. He said the SSA is expected to replace another vessel in 2032, which would cost around $90 million after taking into account inflation. 

Davis said the success of some of these projects would hinge on the ability to acquire grants. 

Nantucket representative on the Port Council Nathaniel Lowell suggested having additional meetings with authority staff and officials to better figure out the vessel replacement process. 

“There is more than just saying the boats are old, and we’ve got to replace the boat,” he said. “There’s a lot more than that.” 

The need to convert the SSA’s fleet to electric vessels to reduce carbon emissions has been an ongoing discussion for communities served by the authority, including the sold-out “Ferries Now” event that took place last April. 

The SSA is also looking to add electric buses to its fleet. The two additional electric buses are expected to cost $2.2 million, and three charging stations are estimated to cost $861,600, which were a part of the 2024 capital projects budget as well.

Meanwhile, the authority is on track to have its newest freight vessels greet its first group of summer passengers. 

SSA director of marine operations Mark Amundsen said the Aquinnah and the Barnstable, the offshore supply vessels being converted for ferry services at Alabama Shipyard, will be ready to be delivered to the SSA by May 17. 

The new May date is a bit later than planned for the delivery. During an April meeting last year, Davis had said the vessels would be delivered to the SSA by April 2024. Amundsen said supply-chain disruptions had delayed the process. 

“This still allows us to get the vessel up north, get our training in preparation for the summer season,” Amundsen said. 

COO Higgins said the goal is to have the vessels ready for service by the first week of the summer schedule. 

According to Amundsen, including change orders, the projects have cost $14.2 million for the Aquinnah, and $14.303 million for the Barnstable, so far. Amundsen said the projects are in the “final third” of their process. 

The SSA purchased three offshore supply vessels in 2022 they named the Aquinnah, the Monomoy, and the Barnstable to replace the aging freight ferries Gay Head, Katama, and Sankaty. However, the lowest bid from Alabama Shipyard, at $20 million per vessel conversion, came in over double the SSA’s estimated $9 million per vessel, forcing the ferry service to negotiate for a cheaper contract with the company — $13.7 million per vessel, according to Amundsen. Alongside cost underestimation, the SSA had also miscalculated how long the engineering and construction phases of the project would take, by 12 weeks each. The underestimations caused the conversion of the Monomoy, which was a part of the contract, to be delayed.