BMT supports Hong Kong’s urban ferry expansion with development of new, fully flexible water taxi vessel designs

BMT has introduced new vessel designs in response to a tender issued by Hong Kong’s Transport Department.

Addressing a need to support the development of domestic passenger ferry services in Hong Kong, BMT’s design experience in hybrid marine powered vessels and hull form optimisation has been applied to a new hybrid “Eco Ferry” and a smaller, nimble 14 pax harbour craft for on-demand and ad-hoc trips, both of which could enable passengers to experience faster, smoother, and more fuel-efficient transits across Hong Kong’s iconic Victoria Harbour.

These vessels build on a proven track record of river and harbour tourist and commuter vessels that have been built for a diverse range of markets and environments, including Rotterdam Waterbus, New Orleans Ferries, New York Water Taxi and Washington State Water Taxi.

Richard Colwill, Regional Managing Director at BMT comments: “By introducing BMT’s new vessel designs we wish to demonstrate the opportunities to introduce more flexible and sustainable marine transport infrastructure – into the centre of our city.

One example - the new hybrid “Eco Ferry” vessel design, is a low cost and sustainable 31m, 20 knot design, that has been proposed by BMT to serve traditional routes with typically higher passenger peak flows. The second design is a small-scale but highly flexible craft, styled in a manner reflecting the city’s iconic “Star Ferry” that is geared towards commuter flexibility and tourist experience, as well as supporting increased connectivity and linkage around the harbour’s edge.

Colwill adds: “Recent studies for customers of potential ferry routes suggest the ‘Eco Ferry’ hybrid propulsion allows the engines to be switched off for over 50 per cent of the time so that’s a huge saving on fuel consumption, engine hours and maintenance – not to mention the removal of emissions: particularly as ferries arrive, loiter and leave piers”.  

BMT’s new vessel designs and its proven design heritage of innovation and application of new generation technologies further illustrates how new marine transport opportunities could be efficiently, economically and sustainably realised - across one of the world’s greatest waterfront cities.