industry signals
Alaska tour operator plans to order fully electric oceangoing boat
W orking on behalf of an
Alaska whale-watching tour
operator, shipbuilders and techni-
cians have designed the nation’s
first all-electric seagoing passenger
vessel.
Tongass Rain, the planned
50-foot catamaran, will run on
battery, wind and solar power,
with no petroleum-based propul-
sion. Armstrong Marine of Port
Angeles, Wash., is prepared to
construct the catamaran for Ton-
gass Rain Electric Cruise LLC.
The company plans to use the
47-passenger boat for tours at
Juneau.
Unlike other electric vessels,
the Tongass Rain concept has no
combustion-based backups. It will
run primarily on batteries and rely
on solar and wind power when its
batteries are depleted. It will be
powered by twin Elco EP-10000
engines. These engines are more
than powerful enough for the
catamaran, which should be able
to reach a top speed of 12 knots
with ease.
Tongass Rain is only the first of
several planned electric vessels, all
of which were designed by Scott
Jutson, a naval architect whose
specialty is high-efficiency hulls
for minimal fuel use and long-
range capacity. Jutson said the
Alaska boat is a step forward into
a new world of electric vessels.
“What makes Tongass Rain
unique is that it’s the first in a
new era of electric vessels in North
America that will have Coast
12
Guard Subchapter T certifica-
tion for passengers,” Jutson said.
Although there are a few fully
electric ferries in North America,
Tongass Rain will be the first all-
electric vessel that is structurally
rated for open-water passenger
carrying.
Armstrong Marine has worked
closely with Tongass Rain owner
Bob Varness, the man behind the
Courtesy Scott Jutson
concept, and the shipyard said it
plans to build the vessel. Sales rep-
resentative John Armstrong said
the operator is still working on Naval architect Scott Jutson has designed what
securing the financing. would be the first electric vessel with U.S. Coast
Guard Subchapter T certification, structurally rated
Varness said both companies
for carrying passengers in open seas. The 50-foot
feel that all-electric vessels are the catamaran Tongass Rain would operate at Juneau.
future, and he wants to prove to
the world just how efficient and a haze on the water.”
affordable these all-electric boats Beyond lessening the stress
can be. The company plans to on the environment from all
use the vessel to educate green- that engine exhaust, Varness said
minded tourists by providing Tongass Rain would be able to
regular whale-watching tours that make the trip out to good whale-
show how the boat is breaking watching areas more efficiently
new ground. than other vessels because the bat-
Varness, a veteran of the bat- teries can be precision-charged for
tery systems industry, said the a plotted sightseeing route.
decision to build the vessel came The design is named for the
from a deep respect for the envi- nearby Tongass National Forest,
ronment, specifically in Juneau, the largest national forest in the
where Varness has watched the U.S.
growth of the whale-watching Varness is confident that the
industry and its effect on the cutting-edge battery system in
ocean and air quality. Tongass Rain represents the future
“There used to be about 12 of marine propulsion. “The new
whale-watching boats in Juneau,” technology is getting close to
Varness said. “Now it’s an indus- replacing fuel. It’s developing so
try. They use 70-footers. When fast,” he said. “A year ago this
the whale-watching ships come wouldn’t have been possible.”
back in at the end of a day, there’s Seth Queeney
Professional Mariner December/January 2016