Auckland ferries: Major overhaul of services and vessels moving closer

Tuesday, 12 October 2021

Michael Eaglen, co-founder of EV Maritime, is designing electric ferries to run on Auckland commuter routes (video published June 2021).

An overhaul of Auckland’s commuter ferry services, including new vessels, new technology and possible new operators, is moving closer with the city’s transport agency soon to call for tenders.

The step is a sign of progress in efforts which have been in stop-start mode for more than four years as Auckland Transport (AT) grapples with the cost and complexity of reshaping ferry services.

Auckland’s privately-owned ferry fleet is ageing, and while it accounts for only 5 per cent of public transport trips, the diesel engines produce 20 per cent of public transport emissions.

AT hopes to find a way to negotiate new contracts that would fund the purchase of a new fleet of more standardised, and low or zero-emission, ferries, on top of costly new infrastructure required.

Ferries manoeuvre at Auckland’s downtown wharves.

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Negotiations also have to find a way to bring fully into the public transport system the busy Devonport and Waiheke Island services, which are purely commercial ventures run by Fullers360, outside AT control.

Cutaway of EV Maritime's 200-passenger electric ferry proposed for Auckland.

The first step could be the commissioning of two fully electric ferries developed by Auckland-based EV Maritime, with some design funding through the government’s “shovel-ready” project scheme.

AT needs sign-off from government agency Waka Kotahi for co-funding and a detailed business case, before it can launch a tender round.

“By mid-2022 there should be more certainty on when and how new boats are introduced,” said Colin Homan of AT.

Downtown Auckland has a brand new, state-of-the-art ferry terminal. (Video from June 2021)

Ferry is the costliest and most difficult of the public transport modes to overhaul, with three main operators owning their own vessels, and replacement costs up to $5 million apiece depending on size.

AT has to find a way to negotiate contracts with payment levels that allow long-term investment in new boats, while at the same time hoping to bring some competitive pressure to tender prices.

At three locations, West Harbour, Bayswater, and Pine Harbour, the marinas used by existing services are owned by developer Empire Capital, requiring other talks over upgrades and possible EV chargers.

AT’s plans would be the biggest investment in new harbour ferries ever undertaken in New Zealand, with 10-12 vessels envisaged in the first 5-6 years, and the same again in the next half-decade.

EV Maritime hopes to win a share of the new business, and other New Zealand firms have previously built much of the existing fleet, but major Australian-based players like Incat Crowther are also in the frame.

AT would also need to invest heavily in charging infrastructure at different destinations for battery-powered vessels, and a working group involving electricity network company Vector is exploring that.

Ferry travel has proved the biggest headache for AT to overhaul, due to issues such as the high cost of vessels and the long-term nature of investment needed by private operators.

Two years of work on a strategy went back to the drawing board two years ago, when the estimated costs were double what AT had anticipated.

However, the increasing unreliability among some of the older boats, and the need to tackle the climate impact of high-polluting diesel engines, means it is a challenge the agency can no longer defer.