Angel Island ferry teams up with New Zealand firm for new electric vessel
SAN FRANCISCO — The Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry Co. has contracted with New Zealand-based EV Maritime to build its new plug-in hybrid vessel, part of a first-in-California effort to electrify the fleet ahead of a zero-emissions deadline.
Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry owner Capt. Maggie McDonogh met with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and other dignitaries at Pier 9 in San Francisco on July 12 to announce the deal for the $12-million, roughly 65-foot vessel, tentatively named “Watts Up!”
“Not only is going electric the right thing to do, I see it as our moral obligation to preserve the environment for future generations,” said McDonogh, a fourth-generation captain of the family business, started in 1959. It serves about 100,000 passengers per year and also offers charters, sunset cruises and whale watching.
McDonogh was joined by deckhand daughter Becky and other crew, along with U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, and New Zealand’s ambassador to the U.S., Rosemary Banks.
“Converting our existing boats, which are still fully serviceable, is a no-brainer effort with a low carbon footprint,” she said. “As for the boat we are building, I am confident that this new vessel packed with cutting-edge electric technology will stand as a shining example of what is possible.”
Through the town of Tiburon, the ferry company won a $24 million grant from the California Air Resources Board in April toward converting its three-boat fleet into all-electric vessels and building out supporting infrastructure. Total funding jumps to $31 million after matching grants.
One of the ferries, the 62-foot, 100-passenger Tamalpais, will be sold, with the proceeds and some grant money used toward the EV Maritime boat. The ferry design and technology company is also working on high-speed electric ferries for Auckland’s commuter fleet, and the Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry project will be its first in the U.S.
“This new vessel will be plug-in hybrid, able to operate fully electric on shorter routes but with hybrid capability for longer-range service,” said EV Maritime CEO Michael Eaglen, who met McDonogh after she spoke last year at an annual ferry conference in Seattle. “By using EV Maritime’s efficiency-optimized hull form and carbon fiber composite construction, this plug-in hybrid vessel will dramatically reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions.”
The new ferry is targeted to launch in January 2027.
The local fleet’s other two boats, the main 400-passenger Angel Island and 98-passenger water taxi Bonita, will be converted to electric motors for about $5 million and $3 million, respectively. That work will be done by San Rafael-based ZeroMar, formerly known as Green Yachts. Both are expected to be done by late next year or early 2026.
In late 2022, California announced that all short-run ferries with routes of 3 nautical miles or less — the Tiburon-to-Ayala Cove run is about 1 nautical mile — must be zero-emission by Dec. 31, 2025.
McDonogh and ZeroMar started seeking grants in 2021 in anticipation of the new law but ran into dead ends as a private businesses. Tiburon then jumped in to apply for the public grants and is using contracted Town Engineer John Moe, as Moe Engineering, as the project administrator.
Supporting the ferry conversions will require about $8 million in infrastructure upgrades, including a dock expansion for new charging equipment and the installation of solar panels. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is reportedly covering the cost of upgrading the electric grid.
Reach Executive Editor Kevin Hessel at 415-435-2652.
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