Norwalk man launches nation’s first hybrid cargo vessel
MAMARONECK, N.Y. — There were no protests, ragtag militias or public beheadings. instead, the sustainable shipping revolution started silently, like the vessels that some hope will power its rise to the mainstream.
On Friday, the nation’s first hybrid cargo vessel was unveiled to the public in Mamaroneck, N.Y., after nearly four years of development. It was no Boston Tea Party, but the moment could mark a turning point in efforts to curb carbon emissions and reduce congestion along the crowded Interstate-95 corridor.
The ship, named Harbor Harvest after owner Bob Kunkel’s market of the same name in East Norwalk, is an emission-free, lithium-batterypowered catamaran that will serve as the backbone of an eco-friendly farm-to-table distribution network between New York and Connecticut.
Though the boat isn’t scheduled to make its maiden voyage to its home port in Norwalk until May, its launch marked a moment more than 10 years in the making for Kunkel.
Kunkel said he watched as the automotive industry pioneered hybrid and electric technologies over the last two decades, wondering when the marine shipping industry would follow suit.
“One day, this technology is going to start to replace combustion engines, I thought, and when it does, I want to be a part of it,” Kunkel said.
In 2016, Kunkel and his business, Alternative Marine Technologies, teamed with Derecktor Shipyards to develop the 65-foot, $2.8-million ship. It was the third such hybrid vessel constructed by Derecktor Shipyards, following its first hybrid vessel, the Maritime Aquarium’s “R/V Spirit of the Sound,” and a state-of-the-art research vessel built for the City University of New York’s Brooklyn College.
Unlike its predecessors, though, Harbor Harvest has a top speed of 16 knots and is outfitted with 300 square feet of open cargo space, 100 square feet of indoor covered cargo space and 140 square feet of walk-in refrigerated space capable of carrying 12,000 pounds of cargo, or roughly 28 pallet loads.
Kunkel said the vessel can hold the equivalent of three to five full trucks. It also reduces a potential nine-hour truck trip between Huntington, N.Y., on Long Island to Norwalk to about 45 minutes by water, according to Kunkel.
“What we’re trying to do is take congestion off the highway and reduce emissions by doing that,” Kunkel said.
The service will primarily deliver dairy, produce, meat and fish products produced by small businesses and local family farms from across New England and New York. Growers like the Farmer’s Cow and Fossil Farms have already entered deals with the company, as has Bridgeport’s Brewport, which debuted a new beer, “Shipbuilding,” in honor of the partnership. Ben & Jerry's has also shown interest in shipping through the company, Kunkel said.
Other companies are not the only ones showing interest.
While Harbor Harvest hasn’t made its first trip yet, it has already secured $1.8 million in funding from the U.S. Maritime Administration for a second vessel.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he was proud to have helped secure the grant for Harbor Harvest.
“This funding will go a long way in supporting a second hybrid cargo vessel on Long Island Sound to alleviate standard vehicle traffic and reduce emissions while helping farmers in the region market fresh goods and commodities,” Murphy said.
The grant is part of the administration’s new Marine Highway initiative designed to reduce traffic congestion, lower gas emissions caused by the trucking industry and bolster marine transportation as an alternative for shippers.
“America’s Marine Highway Program is dedicated to expanding freight movement on the water and this round of grant funding will go a long way toward ensuring that our nation’s waterways continue to be utilized as effectively as possible,” said Mark H. Buzby, administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration.
In the long run, Kunkel hopes Harbor Harvest and its fleet of sustainable shipping vessels could make Norwalk an important stop along the I-95 corridor of the proposed American Marine Highway network.
And he isn’t stopping there. Kunkel said he’s also spoken with officials from San Francisco, Boston and Portland, Maine about starting similar eco-friendly, marine networks.
“Anywhere where someone has to go around a harbor or around a waterway and we can go straight across it, we win,” Kunkel said.