FERRIES 2023: The first P3 on San Francisco Bay
Written by Heather Ervin
Credit: PROP SF
With less than a month to go until Marine Log’s FERRIES 2023 conference in Jersey City, N.J., just across the ferry speckled harbor from Manhattan in New York City, the agenda is fully packed with expert speakers who are directly plugged in to the ferry market.
One such expert speaker is Alex Kryska, COO of PROP SF, a California-based small-scale ferry service provider. Kryska will discuss the first public-private partnership (P3) on the San Francisco Bay known as the Treasure Island ferry.
During his presentation, Kryska will give an overview of the planning, development, and initiation of the ferry partnership. After several years of operational planning and securing regulatory approvals, PROP SF launched the Treasure Island Ferry in partnership with the Treasure Island Development Authority. The service runs daily with up to 15 round trips per day. Currently served by one of PROP SF’s high-speed catamarans, the company is developing a zero-emission vessel to take over the route to meet the CARB regulation date of January 2025.
PROP SF is a private ferry service provider that works with municipalities and developers to provide alternative transportation services and infrastructure consulting. PROP SF started and operated the only private commuter ferry routes on the Bay for six years and currently serves at WETA’s on-call small vessel operator. Additionally, PROP SF partnered with the city of San Leandro to refurbish a municipal dock and make it acceptable for ferry service. This was a three-year project, involving numerous federal, state and local regulatory agencies.
FERRIES 2023: The Conference
Set to take place at the Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson, November 14-15 in Jersey City, N.J., the 36th annual Marine Log FERRIES conference will have as its theme “Designing today’s ferries for future operations.”
The venue, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking ferry traffic on the Hudson River, is a quick ferry ride from New York City.
Delivering two days of in-person discussions, dynamic Q&A sessions, and multiple networking opportunities, FERRIES 2023 will be an opportunity for the North American ferry industry to come together to share experiences, network, look for new suppliers and reconnect with existing suppliers.
The art of designing or upgrading ferries takes a lot into consideration outside of the vessel’s blueprints. Making a greener ferry is a design choice and so is enhancing the passenger experience.
FERRIES 2023 will focus on how today’s ferries—those under construction, coming online soon, or already in operation—can be prepared for the changing scope of future operations.
As ever, a focus of the program will be on lessons learned from hard-earned, real-life experience. In addition, the program will explore new ways to meet economic and environmental targets through advances in technology, innovative approaches to operating a vessel, and the latest trends in ferry design.
In addition to thought leaders presenting on topics relevant to the ferry industry, three panels have been incorporated in this year’s program focused on ferry operator challenges and successes, battery options for ferries, and an interesting overview and look at the new Governors Island ferry project.
Other topics will explore leveraging shoreside terminals and infrastructure to increase profits; low-carbon alternatives, such as electric, hydrogen and hybrid options; what’s trending in ferry designs being delivered today; and more.
The Tour
Following the end of conference sessions, on November 15, an industry tour will be provided to a limited number of attendees. This year’s tour will have attendees board a NYC Ferry vessel and tour the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where it will learn more about NYC Ferry’s Homeport Pier C, its deisgn and construction.
Guests will also learn the history of the area and discover plans for Homepoort II in Red Hook. Hornblower will round out the conversation with an inside look at NYC Ferry’s marine operations and more.
The complete agenda can be found here.
For inquiries regarding sponsorships or ways you can connect with FERRIES 2023 attendees, contact David Harkey at dharkey@sbpub.com.
The Sponsors—So Far
The following organizations are signed up to sponsor FERRIES 2023, although more will be announced soon:
Anchor (Platinum)
VPS (Platinum)
Bayonne Dry Dock (Cocktail Reception)
Siemens Energy (Pre-Conference Cocktail Party)
W&O (Luncheon)
PPG (Registration)
Coastal Marine Equipment (Laynards)
ABB (Gold)
Glosten (Gold)
All American Marine (Silver)
BMT (Silver)
Christie & Grey (Silver)
EMS Marcon (Silver)
GL Power (Silver)
Neste US (Silver)
Hamilton Jet (Silver)
Karl Senner (Silver)
Kongsberg (Silver)
Zinus Power (Silver)
MTU – A Rolls-Royce Solution (Silver)
NCP Coatings (Silver)
RIX (Silver)
Schottel / elkon (Silver)
J&A Enterprises / Soundown (Silver)
United Safety & Survivability Corporation / Fireboy-Xintex (Silver)
Vulkan (Silver)
Marine Jet Power (Silver)
BAE Systems (Bronze)
CANAL (Bronze)
Conrad Shipyard (Bronze)
Crowley (Bronze)
Cummins (Bronze)
Elliott Bay Design Group (Bronze)
EV Maritime (Bronze)
Wärtsilä (Bronze)
LeBlanc & Associates LLC (Bronze)
MOPS (Bronze)
PROP (Bronze)
Rigidized Metals (Bronze)
SSI (Bronze)
The Shearer Group (Bronze)
Thrive Payments (Bronze)
World Wide Metric (Bronze)
360 Coverage Pros (Bronze)
ZF Group (Bronze)
Allied Marine Crane (Bronze)
Artemis Technologies (Bronze)
CMP Global (Bronze)
