Electric boats proposed for Arizona ferries

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

A Honolulu boat builder wants to replace the Navy's aging Arizona Memorial shuttles with a fleet of quiet, nonpolluting electric boats that would be built in Hawai'i.

An artist's rendering shows the design of electric boat proposed to ferry visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial.

"It's a natural," said Brookins, whose smaller version of an electric-powered shuttle designed to operate on the Ala Wai Canal was christened and proved to be the star attraction at the Hawai'i Boat Show and Ocean Expo last month.

The Navy said it is planning to replace its diesel-powered shuttles, four of which have been in operation for more than 20 years.

However, the Navy isn't quite ready to bless Brookins' initiative, even though federal rules mandate that they use environmentally friendly ships.

"Because Naval Station Pearl Harbor does not currently have the infrastructure to support electric boats, we are looking for diesel-fueled vessels that meet or exceed federal and local environmental regulations," said Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell, public affairs officer for Navy Region Hawai'i: "However, we would eagerly support an electric alternative if the infrastructure could be established."

Brookins recently completed a detailed feasibility study that shows the electric launches would not only be popular and possible at Pearl Harbor, but could save the Navy money, too.

"The ride on the fossil fuel burning vessels is accompanied by loud engines and repugnant diesel fumes," his report said. The noise drowns out the narrative visitors hear on the shuttle ride and routinely disrupts the flow of the memorial experience, the report said.

Unlike earlier plans that would use batteries to power existing boats, the new shuttles would be designed specifically to accommodate a fuel cell technology and especially for use at the Arizona Memorial, making them more efficient.

"For the uninitiated, the peacefulness and serenity of cruising aboard an electric launch is difficult to comprehend," Brookins said. "The Arizona Memorial is the perfect setting in which to introduce that experience."

Brookins, with support from the federally financed Hawai'i Electric Vehicle Demonstration Project and the assistance of naval architect Robert Armstrong, has designed a 75-foot, 149-passenger fantail shuttle powered by new fuel cell technology that is quickly rechargeable, quiet and odorless.

The new boats would be slightly larger than the existing shuttles but weigh significantly less. The design would accommodate up to four wheelchairs and additional safety features. They would cost more to build than the existing shuttles, but fuel cost and maintenance savings make the new boats cheaper to operate over the life expectancy of boats, Brookins said. What's more, anticipated costs for fuel cell technology are expected to drop significantly in the next decade.

"For 20 years, the existing shuttle boats have been burning enough fuel to have driven twice as many shuttles had they been of our design," Brookins' report says. Choosing similar vessels in the future would "ensure another 20 years of high cost operation, fumes and poor audio projection," the report says.

Navy officials say they have no firm timetable for replacing the existing shuttles, but are moving forward with a procurement process that will identify financing sources and put a contract out to bid.

"We think we compare real favorably with the boats that are there," Brookins said. "The existing technology just doesn't meet the new environmental standards the federal government demands. We think we have a good shot at moving forward."

Brookins Boatworks has been in Hawai'i since 1982. It has a staff of eight working out of an 8,500-square-foot facility on Sand Island.