The Federal Transit Administration’s Passenger Ferry Grant will provide Maine’s Casco Bay Island Transit District (Casco Bay Lines) with $3.6 million to utilize diesel-electric hybrid propulsion in another fleet vessel.
The grant program provides funding for projects that support passenger ferry systems in urbanized areas.
Casco Bay Lines provides ferry services, scenic cruises, and boat tours from Portland to the islands of Casco Bay. Annually, it transports more than 1 million passengers, 35,000 vehicles, and 500,000 pieces of freight, delivers U.S. mail, and transports island students to and from Portland.
The agency plans to replace the Maquoit II, an aging vessel serving five unbridged down bay islands.
Passenger vessels have a useful life of approximately 30 years. After that time, repairs and maintenance make them too expensive to operate.
The design phase is expected to begin later this year.
Casco Bay Lines previously secured funding to replace the Machigonne II. The Casco Bay Lines’ staff and board of directors decided to replace the vessel with a diesel electric hybrid propulsion system instead of a conventional diesel mechanical propulsion system.
Casco Bay Lines estimates using the propulsion system in Maquoit II’s replacement will eliminate more than 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually over 30 years.