Can Expanding
Ferry Fleet Solve Wake and Air Quality Issues?
New York’s Stellar Opportunity to Build New
Generation of Clean Vessels
New York
Ferry Projects
Battery Park: A $40 million new ferry
terminal at Battery Park City will replace the temporary
two-berth, 6,200-square foot floating terminal with a
five-berth, 32,000-square foot facility.
Hoboken Ferry Terminal: Six of the
original ferry docks at the train terminal are being
rebuilt, greatly expanding ferry service. Construction of a
permanent new ferry terminal is also underway as part of the
restoration of the Hoboken Train Terminal at a cost of $50
to $60 million.
Port Imperial/Weehawken: A new $30 million
ferry terminal at Port Imperial is being built using public
Federal Highway Administration funds and private monies to
expand trans-Hudson ferry service between New Jersey and New
York.
Whitehall Ferry Terminal: Construction of
the new Whitehall Terminal is underway, expanding from two
to three berths.
St. George Ferry Terminal: Expansion of
terminal is underway.
New ferry service and terminal facilities
are underway or planned for:
East River sites at East 34th Street, East 62nd Street, East
75th Street, East 90th Street, and in Edgewater, New Jersey,
located in Bergen County. |
By Teri Shore
Just
blocks from Ground Zero, the Hudson River is coming back to life.
Oysters, striped bass, sturgeon, and even delicate seahorses are
returning to the dark river after decades of cleanup and
restoration. The marine creatures are on view in aquariums flowing
with river water at The River Project offices at Pier 26. The living
display is an element of the ongoing research, education, and urban
ecology conducted by project staff and interns. The aquatic life was
a hopeful sign in the shadow of the place where terrorism struck
home for America.
Those moments with the river dwellers were among
the highlights of my recent junket to New York Harbor to research
its impressive ferry system. While there, I laid the groundwork for
extending Bluewater Network’s successful clean ferry program in
San Francisco to New York. San Francisco Bay will have to play
catch-up if it wants to be the largest ferry fleet in the nation.
The New York/New Jersey fleet already numbers more than 50 vessels.
A dozen or more are on order to serve commuters, visitors, shoreline
communities, and waterfront parks. New York’s plan for hosting the
Olympics calls for a fleet of 52 vessels to carry athletes and
spectators to events—a stellar opportunity to build a new
generation of clean vessels.
While problematic ferry wakes have been featured
in the New York Times, the issue of air pollution from ferry engines
and ways to make them cleaner has not. Using the San Francisco Water
Transit Authority’s new air emissions standards and environmental
measures as a model, Bluewater Network aims to help lead the way to
clean up New York’s fleet and set high goals for new vessels.
While the Bay’s new fleet will be ten times cleaner than it is
today, the New York fast ferry fleet still blackens the air with
diesel exhaust and throws wakes that pound marinas and bulkheads.
But change is on the horizon as the size and importance of the ferry
fleet escalates.
The
local environmental community welcomed my visit because of growing
concern about environmental impacts from ferries. Even with our two
years of collaboration with ferry planners, operators, policy
makers, and labor, none have Bluewater’s expertise on ferry issues
and solutions. At a ferry summit attended by top New York
environmentalists, I gave an extensive briefing on air pollution,
wakes, and other impacts. The local experts then briefed me on ferry
projects and plans in the region.
At the end of the summit, we
decided to initiate the New York/New Jersey Clean Ferry Coalition.
The group consists of environmental, public health, and
transportation groups “advocating for solutions to increased air
and water pollution, damaging wakes and other impacts generated by
operating and expanding the diesel-powered ferry system in the
waterways of New York and New Jersey.” Key supporters include
Hudson Riverkeeper, NY/NJ Baykeeper, The River Project, and INFORM.
Other groups are coming on board as we develop our campaign platform
and strategies. The coalition’s first action was to submit lengthy
comments on the proposed new Pier 79 Ferry Terminal on the Hudson
River near the Lincoln Tunnel, one of ten or more ferry projects
currently underway or planned in the region.
Like my environmental colleagues, most of the city
and state officials, air regulators, and ferry operators I met did
not realize that diesel ferries create more air pollution than cars
or buses. The independent reports I distributed to everyone were
real eye-openers, and, in some cases, the recipients found them hard
to believe. The next step is to compile a New York Ferry Emissions
Report to quantify air quality impacts in the region and how the
ferry system compares to other modes.
Like marine life in the Hudson River, the New York
ferry fleet is growing and thriving post-September 11. This is
largely due to $33 million in federal emergency funds given to the
city to provide ferry service to commuters while the popular PATH
subway under the Hudson River to Hoboken, New Jersey, is repaired.
However, fleet expansion predates the World Trade Center disaster.
The ferry network is run by a tangle of public and
private operators in association with city, state, and regional
authorities. The ferry system has been growing steadily for a decade
or more, as newer, faster ferries have been put into service, mostly
by New York Waterway. New York Water Taxi is also running short,
frequent daytime routes in the Harbor. High-end fast ferries
operated by Seastreak and New York Fast Ferry serve longer routes to
New Jersey. The grandmother of the fleet, the Staten Island Ferry,
has operated 24/7 since the 1960s. At least three of Staten Island’s
eight ferries are being replaced with new vessels.
In addition to the Pier 79 project, three new
ferry terminals are planned at Battery Park, Hoboken, and Port
Imperial/Weehawken that will significantly increase ferry traffic in
New York Harbor. The Whitehall Terminal at the tip of Manhattan and
St. George Ferry Terminal are also being expanded to serve the
Staten Island Ferry. In addition, smaller facilities and new ferry
services have been instituted or are planned at East 34th Street,
East 62nd Street, East 75th Street, and East 90th Street along the
East River. The town of Edgewater in Bergen County also plans to
seek new ferry service in the near future.
While water transit makes absolute sense for
traversing the Hudson and East Rivers and freeing commuters from the
tyranny of bridges and tunnels, ferry expansion is occurring with
very little, if any, environmental review. Collectively, these
interrelated projects have the potential to create tremendous
impacts on the Harbor and the air quality of the region.
Each ferry produces far more air pollution per
passenger mile than any other transit mode, including
single-occupant cars and diesel buses. Yet, in New York Harbor there
has not been any analysis of the cumulative impacts relating to the
air emissions and wakes from these vessels, nor any in-depth inquiry
into the potential water quality impacts from wastewater generated
on the vessels, disruption or damage to wildlife and habitats, or
other environmental impacts. It is time that these impacts are
evaluated, addressed, and minimized to assure the sustainability of
the fleet and the health of the region’s people and ecosystems.
The current state of NYC’s air quality makes it
critical that any increase in air emissions be prevented. For the
third year in a row, all of New York City’s five boroughs have
failed the American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report.
Addressing the quality of the air is a critical public health
concern as over 1.1 million people in the New York City metropolitan
area and 1 out of every 10 NYC schoolchildren suffer asthma, a
chronic and often debilitating disease. Currently, over 100,000
people visit the emergency room and over 36,000 people are admitted
to the hospital each summer because of elevated ozone levels in New
York City.
Staten Island Ferry
Riding
any of the New York ferries provides one of the most incredible and
powerful panoramas in the world. San Francisco has the grandeur of
the Golden Gate, but the geography of New York’s skyline (even
without the towers), the magnificent bridges, and the Statue of
Liberty project an intensity and seriousness that only the world’s
economic powerhouse could possess. The view was best from the Staten
Island Ferry.
The Staten Island ferries are the only fully
publicly funded vessels. The fleet consists of large, lumbering
car-ferry type vessels that carry anywhere between 1,200 to 6,000
passengers, and travel at a speed of 16 knots across the 5-mile
channel. The three Kennedy class boats have been operating since the
1960s and are due for replacement.
Surprisingly, the new vessels are not being
designed to accommodate new air emissions controls to reduce the
hundreds of tons of pollutants released into the already compromised
air of the metropolitan region. Currently, the fleet emits 450 tons
per year of smog-forming gases and 25 tons of cancer-causing soot.
Surely, the time to invest in cleaner technologies is when building
new vessels that will run round the clock for decades. These
technologies are available today.
New York Waterway
At the other end of the ferry spectrum, New York
Waterway operates a fleet of 49 quick, small vessels that crisscross
the Hudson and speed up and down the East River. By far the biggest
private operator in New York Harbor, the company also runs a fleet
of blue-and-red feeder buses for commuters. About 15 million
passengers ride these ferries into Manhattan each year. This fleet
was instrumental to the rescue efforts at the World Trade Center.
The company responded quickly to the disaster and also secured the
use of whale-watching, fishing, and other vessels to meet the
immediate crisis. Most of these vessels remain in service. In
addition, the fleet will be called upon to whisk commuters to work
in the event of a transit strike in the city.
Since September, New York Waterway has been
rewarded with millions of dollars of federal emergency funds to
operate and increase ferry service. Most of the new ferry terminal
projects will benefit New York Waterway’s system and its ferry
riders.
When
I rode the ferries between New York and New Jersey ports, I found
the service to be incredibly efficient and on time. The bowloading
vessels allowed for quick loading and unloading without tying up at
the dock, which took less than 5 minutes all told. Unlike San
Francisco’s long rides, on river crossings you barely have time to
get comfortable and open the newspaper before it’s time to get off
and board a shuttle bus or make your way to the nearest transit bus
or subway. Clearly, it’s a system that works.
However, the emissions from these vessels, like
all marine engines, are uncontrolled and unmeasured. It was
disconcerting to see the plumes of black smoke pouring from the
exhaust opening. Ferry riders, crews, and nearby communities get a
blast of exhaust every time the vessel arrives and departs. These
short routes are the perfect runs for deploying hybrid-electric
ferries that would allow the captain to turn off the diesel engines
in port and operate on zero emission battery power.
Top New York Waterway officials were generous
enough to meet with me and explain their operations. John Ruzich,
vice president of sales and marketing, and Pete Johansen, Senior
Director of Regulatory Compliance Safety and Training, said New York
Waterway is replacing all of its old diesel engines with modern,
electronically controlled diesels. Doing so reduces harmful
emissions by about 40 percent, they said.
The company is also participating in a new ferry
emissions working group organized by the New York City Department of
Transportation, which secured $1.5 million in federal clean air
funds to test clean fuels and technologies on the existing fleet.
The Private Ferry Emissions Reduction Program will provide New York
Waterway and other operators with public funding to test
state-of-the-art emissions controls. This is a significant way to
start cleaning up the existing fleet.
New York Water Taxi
New York Water Taxi’s Tom Fox appears to be
going head to head with New York Waterway in attracting ferry
riders. And he is using his environmental credentials and know-how
to market his service. Before founding New York Water Taxi with the
support of billionaire Douglas Durst, Fox spent most of his career
in parks advocacy. In fact, he was instrumental in creating the
Hudson River Park. Not long ago, he was hired to come to San
Francisco to help city officials with Golden Gate Park projects.
Fox said that the company’s three water taxis
are low-wake and handicapped accessible throughout, unlike any
other. He is building three more to put into service next year to
operate short hops up and down the East River and Hudson River to
serve both commuters and visitors. The vessels are easy to spot on
the water, as they are painted in the familiar yellow and black
colors of the city’s taxis.
When riding the brand-new New York Water Taxi vessels, I did not see
the visible exhaust that was so obvious on other boats. The engines
appeared to be running cleaner. I asked a crewman why the exhaust
was not visible, and he attributed it to a rigorous daily
maintenance program. To be fair, the New York Waterway vessels
operate longer hours and more frequently, and many are older
vessels. But reducing visible emissions is clearly not an impossible
goal.
We hope that Fox will utilize with his green
credentials to help push for cleaner diesel engines in his and other
fleets.
While I did not ride Seastreak or New York Fast
Ferry vessels, I did see them traversing the Harbor. These are large
vessels more similar to the fast ferries that operate on San
Francisco Bay. Powered by large diesel engines, these types of
vessels are equipped with snack bars, TVs, and comfortable seats.
Such are the requirements for the one-hour trips taken by these
high-speed ferries. Now if only some of the expense spent on comfort
and good looks was invested in alternative fuels and new pollution
controls.
Wakes
In addition to generating air pollution, the
growing New York Harbor fleet has generated troublesome wakes. I
experienced the wake problem firsthand at a Safe Wakes Committee
meeting on board one of World Yacht’s elegant dining vessels.
Docked adjacent to New York Waterway’s busy Pier 78 terminal, we
were tossed around quite noticeably each time a ferry came and went,
causing borderline seasickness. When the ferry schedule slowed, so
did the turbulence.
The Safe Wakes Coalition consists of “marina
owners and operators, vessel owners and operators, shoreside
commercial, nonprofit and public entities adversely impacted by wake
wash seeking relief from the damaging effects of wake wash.”
Several marinas are installing breakwaters to prevent the increasing
wake activity. Property owners are tracking the damage experienced
due to the growing fast ferry fleet. The coalition wants operational
measures instituted in the harbor to reduce or eliminate harmful
wake effects. The only ways to reduce wake wash are speed, routing,
and hull design.
The typical catamaran vessel produces less
powerful wakes at speed than a monohull vessel. But when you slow it
down, the catamaran wake is often more problematic due to the size,
shape, and energy of the wave that it produces.
A draft wake report compiled by the Stevens
Institute in Hoboken for the Port of New York/New Jersey was
recently released to New York Waterway and other ferry operators.
However, it was not made public pending additional research. Until
then, the coalition plans to meet and draft measures to present to
offending ferry operators and policy makers to address the problem
sooner rather than later. Public officials are likely to be called
on to help resolve the wake issue in the short term.
Private Operators, Subsidies, and Profits
One refrain that I heard repeatedly from ferry
operators, policy makers, environmentalists, and regulators alike
while in New York was that the fleet is private, not subsidized, and
that the companies cannot afford to invest in clean fuels and
technologies. While this argument has merit, it does not represent
the full picture. Other transportation sectors have had to share the
cost of cleaning up buses, trucks, and cars. Now it is the marine
industry’s turn.
To begin with, all the operators receive a form of
subsidy in terms of the terminal facilities built using public
funds. Without docks and terminals, ferries can’t operate.
Real subsidies have occurred in mass lately with
the influx of much-needed FEMA money to provide commuter transit
while the PATH line to Hoboken is repaired. In fact, the September
2002 issue of Forbes magazine reported that as a result of
government subsidies, New York Waterway was “awash in cash. Net
income jumped to $5.8 million on $47 million in revenue (in 2001),
up from $2 million and $37 million in 2000.”
According to the writer, NY Waterway is receiving
$1.4 million a month in public funding to run extra service
post-9/11. Some of that money should be used to make the ferries
cleaner with use of low-sulfur fuels, biodiesel, and the
installation of air pollution controls.
Nor are the other operators devoid of resources.
New York Water Taxi is bankrolled by Douglas Durst, one of New York’s
wealthiest real estate moguls. While no one argues that a business
needs to make a profit, think of the marketing opportunities if the
company were to be the first to build a fleet of super-clean
vessels, setting the bar for all competitors. Technology such as
hybrid-electric configurations can be built today that would reduce
emissions and save money in fuel by not burning diesel all day long.
Seastreak is owned by the multinational
corporation Sea Containers LTD, which operates the world’s largest
fast ferry fleet. It runs high-speed catamarans across the English
Channel and the Mediterranean under the subsidiary Hoverspeed. Sea
Containers Ltd. is a Bermuda company with operating subsidiaries in
London, Genoa, New York, Rio de Janeiro, and Sydney. It is owned
primarily by U.S. shareholders, according to the company website.
The company is also highly profitable, with net income up 105
percent for the first nine months of 2002, with $27.9 million income
on revenue of $1.23 million.
New York Fast Ferry is part of the publicly traded
Lighthouse Ferry Company based in West Caldwell, New Jersey.
According to Yahoo’s business website, the company operates four
vessels to provide service between Highlands and Keyport, New
Jersey, and Manhattan.
All these companies should be called upon to share
the costs of cleaning up ferries along with public agencies.
A Vision for New York Harbor
Bluewater
Network shares the vision of others in New York of enhancing the
ferry system in the Harbor to increase mobility and access to the
waterfront, but only if the existing vessels are cleaned up and new
boats are designed from the start to be environmentally sound.
The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance recently
produced a new waterfront map that shows existing ferry routes and
waterfront destinations. Its Blue Links plan calls for new
waterfront infrastructure and transportation improvements that can
provide better access. MWA envisions a regional ferry system
possibly funded by bridge tolls, similar to what is being proposed
in San Francisco. Bluewater Network supports MWA’s vision and
advocacy for the waterfront.
But
in order to make fast ferries competitive with other transit modes,
they must be 85 percent cleaner than the new federal standards
taking effect between 2004 and 2007 require, according to
independent air quality studies. This is the standard that the San
Francisco Bay Water Transit Authority is mandating for its fleet of
30 or more new vessels. The Port of Los Angeles recently announced a
policy of “no net air emissions increase” in its busy commercial
harbor. Surely, New York Harbor can meet or beat these standards.
The San Francisco Bay Water Transit Authority
published a technical evaluation of 39 different technology and fuel
combinations that will significantly reduce air emissions. Several
choices currently available include add-on controls to diesel
engines, gas turbine engines, and hybrid-electric boats. Use of
low-sulfur fuels and biodiesel can also help. The WTA has even
committed to building the first fuel cell-powered ferry.
The state of New York should consider setting a
low-emissions sulfur fuel standard for use in all passenger ferries
standard as has been done in California.
Environmental Defense has already convinced New
York City to use ultra-low sulfur fuel for cleanup and construction
activities around the World Trade Center. ED is working with ferry
operators to find ways to clean up the existing fleet utilizing
federal clean air congestion management funding. The existing fleet
should capitalize on the public funding and tests, then commit to a
long-term plan for utilizing the fuels and technologies after
testing.
Bluewater Network is supporting the ferry industry’s
efforts to increase federal funding to ferries across the nation
through the Transportation Equity Act reauthorization next year.
This provides an excellent opportunity for ferry operators to
compete on more equal footing with highway, bus, and other transit
operators. The key will be to ensure that environmental standards
are attached to any new funding for ferries.
Ferries–The Next Generation
Imagine a fleet of vessels gliding across the
harbor powered by clean electricity and supplemented with solar
power and wings that add wind power. Such a vessel already operates
in Sydney Harbor in Australia. The Solar Sailor is the first solar,
wind-power ferry in the world. It is also quiet, low-wake, and can
run without any fuel. To achieve better speeds, the vessel is
equipped with generators that can operate on fossil fuels or
biodiesel.
The charter boat operated by Captain Cook Cruises
has proven the feasibility of a hybrid-electric configuration that
uses batteries to store power generated by solar panels installed
across the deck and wings. The computerized rigid wings act like
sails under the right conditions. The prototype is now ready for
commercialization.
New York City’s Olympic Committee should
consider taking the lead in building a fleet of similar vessels
customized for the Harbor’s conditions to use during the Olympics
(if the city does indeed win the bid). Then, the clean fleet could
be leased or given to local operators for commute and tour
operations.
In order to best expand and clean up the New York
Harbor fleet, it may make sense to institute an oversight mechanism
such as a commission or agency that is primarily responsible for the
coordination, growth, and environmental responsibility of the
ferries.
For more information about Bluewater Network,
visit www.bluewaternetwork.org or contact Teri Shore at tshore@bluewaternetwork.org.