Report: Company Eyes Statue of Liberty Solar Ferry
Add another attraction to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: A futuristic-looking, solar-fueled ferry to take visitors there.
Ferry operator Circle Line is floating a plan to put an environmentally friendly hybrid vessel, combining solar, wind and diesel power, on its Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island route, the New York Post reported Sunday. The proposal is part of the company's bid to renew the ferry concession, according to the newspaper.
Circle Line President J.B. Meyer said work on a roughly 115-foot trimaran hybrid ferry could start at once if the National Park Service approves the company's proposal. A park service spokesman did not immediately return a cell phone message early Sunday.
The $8 million vessel would be built by Sydney, Australia-based Solar Sailor, which created a similar ferry for Sydney's harbor, the Post reported. The design features a sail-like, solar-panel-covered wing that can be moved into optimal positions for catching the sun and wind, said co-founder Robert Dane.
The 600-passenger ferry can travel at up to 6 knots on solar, wind and battery power alone, and up to 14 knots when its diesel engines are also running, according to Solar Sailor's Web site.
With the engines, its speed would be similar to that of conventional ferries, according to the Post.
The vessel would cost about $2 million more than traditional ferries but use one-third less fuel, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, Meyer said. It would emit only about half as many greenhouse gases than conventional ferries, according to the Post.
The Circle Line runs ferry service to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from Battery Park in lower Manhattan and from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J.
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