VESSEL REVIEW: The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) recently welcomed a new vehicle ferry to its fleet that serves the city of Galveston and the community of Port Bolivar. The double-ended vessel has been named 'Esperanza “Hope” Andrade' after a local businesswoman who is also the former chair of the Texas Transportation Commission as well as former Texas Secretary of State.
The ferry has a length of 293 feet (89.3 metres), a beam of 66 feet (20 metres), a draught of 16 feet (4.9 metres), and capacity for 495 passengers and either 70 passenger-driven vehicles or eight 18-wheel trailers. The propulsion system includes diesel engines and a Siemens Energy energy storage system with a lithium-ion battery.
The TxDOT placed the new vessel into service to complement the peak demand that normally starts with the beginning of the spring break season in the United States. It will be able to cover the Galveston-Port Bolivar route in as little as 18 minutes.
The 1,477kWh batteries are supplemented by four engines driving 600kW generators. The ferry will operate normally in hybrid mode with two engines and both battery rooms online. The vessel has the capability to run only on the four engines or for 30 minutes on battery power alone, ensuring triple redundancy for the propulsion system.
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