New York City Has a $33 Million Electric Ferry, But Still Doesn’t Have a Charging Station for It

New York City’s hybrid ferry still runs only on diesel.

The Harbor Charger is a $33 million hybrid ferry purchased last year that runs between Lower Manhattan and Governors Island, and operates on a Norwegian-made battery powered by the local electrical grid, according to a New York Times article published on Friday, October 30.

However, a charging station for the ferry has yet to be built, so it’s been running on diesel from onboard generators.

The Harbor Charger’s dockside charging station was supposed to be built in 2025 and has two parts: a design phase, which the city is funding, and construction, which will be paid for with $7.5 million in federal funds, the outlet reported.

The design phase has been pretty much done for over a year, Sarah Krautheim, chief of staff at the Trust for Governors Island, the New York City-backed nonprofit overseeing the island’s development, told the publication.

So what’s the hold up? The design firm needs input from the company that will oversee construction. However, that company can’t be hired until President Donald Trump‘s Department of Transportation signs off on the $7.5 million grant, part of $250 million meant for clean ferries in the 2021 infrastructure law under President Joe Biden.

Krautheim noted that if the Trump administration issues the federal funds and contractors are selected, construction will probably take a little over a year for the charging station.

Regardless, hybrids running on diesel are still better for the environment than the older vessels they replace, as Krautheim told the outlet, “The Harbor Charger is already delivering a more sustainable ride to New Yorkers.”