FERRIES 2025: Innovations in emergency evacuation for alternative-fueled ferries
Written by Heather Ervin
Whitney Mantooth.
As the ferry industry adopts alternative fuels, safety strategies must evolve to match new technologies. At next week’s Marine Log’s FERRIES Conference, Whitney Mantooth, senior engineer I, Technology Americas at ABS, will discuss how some fules, including methanol, have unique risks that are reshaping emergency evacuation procedures. The event takes place November 4-5 in Jersey City, N.J., just across from the Manhattan skyline.
Methanol offers environmental benefits but presents safety challenges, including invisible flames and the release of toxic vapors that can complicate early detection and safe evacuation. Mantooth’s presentation, “Innovations in Emergency Evacuation Procedures: Addressing Challenges with Alternative Fuels,” examines how passenger evacuation modeling, human factors engineering, and function-based digital twins can help address these issues.
These tools enable real-time simulation of vessel environments, integrating inputs from sensors, CCTV and fire systems to support evacuation modeling and risk analysis. The goal is to ensure that the Required Safe Egress Time—the time needed for detection, decision-making and evacuation—remains shorter than the Available Safe Egress Time, even when methanol’s low-visibility flames reduce escape margins.
By combining high-fidelity modeling with human-centered design, this approach enhances safety, improves accessibility, and aligns with regulatory standards. As ferries continue to grow in size and operate with smaller crews, intelligent systems like these are becoming increasingly vital to ensure passenger safety in an era of cleaner, alternative fuels.
Marine Log’s FERRIES 2025 will gather ferry operators, shipyards, naval architects, and technology leaders for two days of sessions and networking focused on innovation, safety, and sustainability in passenger vessel operations.
A unique tour will wrap up the event on November 5, when conference guests are invited to tour the M/V Harbor Charger—Governors Island’s newest hybrid ferry. Read more about the M/V Harbor Charger tour. Space is limited.
For more information on sponsorships, contact David Harkey at 212-620-7223 (office) or 973-563-0109 (cell) or dharkey@sbpub.com. If you’d like to speak next year, contact Heather Ervin at hervin@sbpub.com.
Categories: Engines & Fuel, Ferries, News
