Protected by bright blue rain slickers, passengers head for a tour of the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls onboard Maid of the Mist’s Nikola Tesla (source: Riviera Maritime Media)
With two years of operating two zero-emissions tour boats under its belt, Maid of the Mist is providing valuable insights to other US ferry operators that are considering using batteries in their fleets
It would be hard to imagine a more spectacular backdrop than Niagara Falls to showcase two of the first all-electric passenger vessels in the US. Operated by privately held tour boat operator Maid of the Mist, the 600-passenger, zero-emission catamarans, James V Glynn and Nikola Tesla, are now in their second year of operation, providing valuable operational experience and lessons for other US ferry and tour boat operators considering using all-electric propulsion.
This was apparent on a recent tour of James V Glynn, organised by electric propulsion systems integrator ABB Marine & Ports in co-operation with the owner. The tour of the vessel, battery room and propulsion compartment drew New York City Department of Transportation’s Staten Island Ferry, North Carolina DOT, Washington State’s Kitsap Transit and Delaware River & Bay Authority — representing some of the largest publicly funded ferry owners in the US. Also in attendance were representatives for Rhode Island shipbuilder Senesco Marine, which is constructing a hybrid-electric passenger vehicle ferry for Maine’s Casco Bay Lines, and li-ion battery manufacturer Spears Power Systems.
“The boats’ open deck design, in combination with their silent, vibration-free propulsion, provides passengers with an immersive experience”
Not on the tour, but much discussed by attendees, was the largest ferry operator in the US, Washington State Ferries, which has issued a request for information (RFI) for the design and construction of five hybrid-electric Olympic-class passenger vehicle ferries. Plans call for a request for proposals to be released in October 2022. This would be the largest scale ferry electrification project in the US.
Clearly, cutting CO2 and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from public and private transportation systems has become a primary goal in the ferry sector. Many US ferry operators are increasingly turning to electrification as part of their decarbonisation journey. Momentum is building behind this electric evolution, but it is not without its challenges.
Electric pioneer
Carrying some 1.6M passengers to tours of Niagara Falls, Maid of the Mist is an iconic, global brand, with roots going back to 1846. As a first mover of all-electric propulsion in the US, Maid of the Mist marine operations manager Chris McKay told attendees on the tour the company had to “take some arrows going over the hill” in its first year of operation. He called the first year of operation, “a calibration year”, but noted real benefits of the zero-emission technology. Among these, he said, was the ability to provide 600 passengers with a tour experience “with the greatest of manoeuvrability and without damaging the environment; we can do it silently so that people can experience nature in a totally different way.”
The boats’ open deck design — free from any view-obstructing columns — in combination with their silent, vibration-free propulsion, provides passengers with an immersive experience, allowing them to connect with the natural and majestic beauty of the America Falls on the US side and the Horseshoe Falls on the Canada side of Niagara Falls.
Participants on the demonstration tour were treated to a 20-minute trip covering about ½ nautical mile of the Lower Niagara River to viewing points of both the American and Canadian falls. What was impressive was the way James V Glynn silently glided through the water; there were no diesel fumes or mechanical noise to contend with.
Manoeuvrability
Once the tour was completed at the Horseshoe Falls, the boat elegantly spun on its axis — almost like a ballerina performing a pirouette — using its two azimuth Veth VL-200 L-drives, demonstrating the vessel’s excellent manoeuvrability. A patented ‘shark tail’ design on the contra-rotating propeller of each drive provides optimal water flow, according to Veth Propulsion. Each of the catamaran’s hulls houses a compact 50-kW Veth L-Drive and 200-kW propulsion motor connected to its own independent battery system. This provides safety and redundancy. Additionally, each hull is fitted with a bow thruster that allows the vessel to move laterally and is used simultaneously with the azimuth thruster for increased manoeuvrability. This combination makes for a smooth landing for passengers, allowing the crew to ‘walk’ the vessel to the dock.
“We spend more on raincoats than we do on fuel”
At the dock, the 158 kWh li-ion battery banks in each hull, supplied by Spears Power Systems, can be fast charged in about seven minutes using a 400-amp dockside charging system. Each trip consumes about 38 kWh. The environmental benefit of the zero-emission tour boats comes from harnessing the power of Niagara Falls, the third largest source of hydroelectric power in the US.
Ready access to renewable hydroelectric power was a factor in building the all-electric vessels. “Given our close association with hydroelectric power at the falls, when it came time to renew our fleet, we wanted to consider electric propulsion,” said Maid of the Mist president Christopher Glynn.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion sponsored by ABB in New York City in December 2019 before James V Glynn and Nikola Tesla went into service, Mr Glynn detailed the process behind investing in all-electric propulsion — a big step for a small, privately owned vessel owner.
After learning about the technology the decision was made to go with all-electric propulsion, and Mr Glynn said Maid of the Mist drew its inspiration from Ampere, the all-electric car ferry that went into service in western Norway in 2015.
