NYC plan to electrify ferry from Manhattan to Governors Island wins $7.5 million federal grant

The feds are jump-starting New York City’s plan to electrify ferry service to Governors Island by awarding the city Transportation Department $7.5 million to build electric charging infrastructure.

The Governors Island Trust announced plans in March to replace its 1956-vintage diesel-powered ferry — the Lt. Samuel S. Coursen — with the city’s first hybrid-electric vessel, slated to enter service sometime next year.

The $7.5 million federal grant, announced this week, will fund construction of the charging infrastructure in Governors Island.

The plan includes a battery energy storage system that “will stabilize the demand on the island’s power grid and support rapid charging of vessels and allow them to operate in zero-emissions mode,” a Federal Transit Administration summary of the project says.

The charging system is aimed at “significantly reducing emissions, decreasing maintenance costs, and improving reliability,” the summary says.

The ship itself is expected to be the first hybrid-electric passenger vessel in operation in New York harbor.

Though it will have a backup diesel powerplant, the city hopes to use the Governors Island charging facility to enable the ship to run on battery power full-time. City officials estimate the electric ship could eliminate between 600 and 800 tons of carbon emissions per year.

The new ferry, under construction at a Louisiana shipyard, is expected to carry up to 12,000 passengers at a time. It can make the roughly half-mile journey from its terminal at 10 South St. in Lower Manhattan to Governor’s Island at a modest 10 knots — about 11.5 mph.

NYC Ferry service also serves Governors Island, from terminals on the East River in Manhattan and from Brooklyn.

Governors Island, a former U.S. Coast Guard base, has been open to the public since 2005. It accessible by ferry year round.

The electric ferry grant comes alongside another pot of federal money — $3 million in FTA funds for the Staten Island Ferry, to help the city Transportation Department rehabilitate a building that houses spare ferry and dock parts.