Shearer Group to provide construction oversight of new TxDOT ferry
Written by Nick Blenkey
Double-ended diesel-electric ferry with energy storage will be capable of carrying 495 passengers / 70 cars
The Shearer Group, Inc. (TSGI) is to provide construction oversight of the 300 ft hybrid ferry under construction for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) at Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc.’s Jennings, La., shipyard (See earlier story).
The Shearer Group was awarded a five-year indefinite deliverable contract with TxDOT n 2017. That contract tasked the naval architecture firm with providing the the detail design of a double-ended diesel-electric ferry with energy storage capable of carrying 495 passengers / 70 cars, to provide service from Galveston Island to Bolivar Peninsula.
The diesel-electric system with energy storage will be provided by Siemens utilizing its Bluedrive PlusC technology with 1.4 MWHr of energy storage to increase the safety and and reliability of the vessel.
This system will deliver power to a pair of Voith Schneider cycloidal propellers via electric motors.
Specifications
- Dimensions: 293’ x 66’ x 16’
- Capacity: 70 Car / 495 Passengers
- Propulsion: Diesel Electric with Energy Storage
- Propellers: Voith Schneider
