Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB), Freeland, Wash., has been awarded a contract by San Francisco Bay Ferry to design and construct two 400-passenger battery-electric ferries under the agency’s Rapid Electric Emission Free (REEF) Ferry Program.
The 142'1"x34'9" Subchapter K catamarans will operate at 25 knots on central Bay routes, connecting Oakland and Alameda with San Francisco, an NBBB press release said. The vessels will feature four independent propulsion units with Hydromaster drives and a modular, scalable energy storage system integrated by Wärtsilä North America. Charging infrastructure will include MCS charging units, a DC grid, and DC conversion technology.
Incat Crowther will lead vessel design, with electrical engineering support from Ockerman Automation Consulting. Wärtsilä North America will serve as the electrical propulsion system integrator.
NBBB noted in its press release that the shipyard has constructed more than 50 high-speed aluminum catamarans since pioneering the first such vessel in U.S. waters in 1982.
Delivery dates on the builds have not yet been disclosed.
