THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 24, 1995 TAG: 9506240383
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
The world's first passenger ferry powered exclusively by natural gas was officially christened on Friday.
By summer's end, the environmentally friendly ferry, now undergoing safety tests by the Coast Guard, is expected to be plying the Elizabeth River between Norfolk and Portsmouth.
The 60-foot boat retains its original look - fluted smokestacks, paddle wheel and all. The only difference is the fuel.
The former diesel-burner was converted to natural gas after officials from Tidewater Regional Transit met with Virginia Natural Gas and American Gas Association officials in 1989.
Virginia Natural Gas originally approached TRT to convert commuter buses to natural gas. But during the meeting, as the officials looked out over the Elizabeth River, the idea of converting one of TRT's ferries was born.
``Our region is paving the way for the rest of the country and the rest of the world,'' U.S. Rep. Owen Pickett said during the dedication.
Natural gas has been used for years as an alternative, clean-burning fuel in other types of vehicles. However, boats have never before been fully converted. A ferry in British Columbia uses both diesel and natural gas. TRT's ferry will be the only one to rely solely on natural gas, TRT officials say.
The ferry, which can carry 120 people, was christened the James C. Echols after TRT's first and only executive director. After serving TRT for 21 years, Echols announced this month that he plans to retire in September.
In 1993, almost a half-million passengers used the three Elizabeth River ferries that TRT operates between Waterside, Portside, Harbor Park and Portsmouth's High Street. A quarter of the passengers, TRT estimates, use the ferries to commute to work.
The natural-gas project took two years to develop. It's TRT's answer to a government initiative to begin using cleaner-burning fuels to power public transit.
Under the federal Energy Policy Act of 1992, three-quarters of new fleet cars and trucks bought at the turn of the century by federal and state agencies here and in other large metropolitan areas must use alternative fuels.
And by eliminating the black smoke billowing from the ferry's stacks, TRT, Portsmouth and Norfolk hope to provide an environmentally friendly image for a river that has long suffered from environmental abuse. by CNB