Electric-ferry first looms

Bored with reading about electric cars? Well, the country’s first electric ferry is finally in the water and will soon be undergoing sea trials before its anticipated official launch on September 9.

The New Zealand-developed vessel is setting the standard for fully electric high-performance passenger ferries in the southern hemisphere.

It has been built by Wellington Electric Boat Building Company for local company East By West, and the carbon-fibre 19-metre, 135-passenger ferry will provide a round-trip service in Wellington Harbour.

Powered by partners Meridian Energy, she will transport passengers from the CBD to Day’s Bay and Somes Island (Matiu).

“We’re proud to lend our experience and energy to ground-breaking projects like this one that prove the potential for the electrification of transport to disrupt the status quo,” says Neal Barclay, Meridian’s chief executive. 

East By West’s managing director, Jeremy Ward, says: “While the quiet hum of an electric boat is more pleasurable for passengers, this project is driven by our desire to take climate action.

“Our two diesel ferries use about 250,000 litres of fuel a year between them. It’s not sustainable for the planet and I knew electrification was the answer. I was surprised to discover we were the first in New Zealand to be doing it, but we didn’t let that hold us back.”

Work on the ferry began in 2018 with the project originally scheduled to launch in mid-2020, but that deadline was pushed back by Covid-19.

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, Greater Wellington Regional Council and Callaghan have helped to fund the project.