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S.S. Badger travels continuously in season from Manitowoc to Ludington. (NPR Photo).

SAVING BADGER: Imperiled Car Ferry May Be Saved by Natural Gas Conversion

U.S. Races to Catch Up to Norway, Which Converted Fleet 10 Years Ago

April 9, 2014       Leave a Comment
By: Dave Rogers

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Environmentalists, and the good folks of Ludington, may soon have more cause to cheer.

Coal-fired electrical generating plants are falling like a house of cards; now even ships are being converted to natural gas.

The venerable S.S. Badger, the last coal-fired ferry operating in the United States, is the first project being considered for a growing initiative to convert the Great Lakes shipping fleet to natural gas power.

Badger is a car ferry that from May into October runs four hours each way from Ludington, Michigan, to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and back daily, with two trips a day in high summer. It can carry 600 passengers and 180 cars, buses, trucks -- and other cargo like blades for wind farm turbines.

Estimates are that Ludington's economy is pumped up by about $20 million a year by the Badger's operations. If she is taken out of service, a big hole would appear in many pocketbooks.

It's not just the black smoke spewed into the air by the Badger that has been cause for concern, but another more despicable practice -- dumping four tons of coal ash slurry into Lake Michigan every day, notes Noah Adams of National Public Radio.

That amounts to about 500 tons a year. Not good for the fish or the water quality that is tapped by many communities for drinking. According to NPR, arsenic, lead and mercury are all part of the coal waste.

The conversion apparently will come just in the nick of time: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the Badger's practice of dumping coal ash into Lake Michigan under review. Chances are, if she is not converted to natural gas, her career could end under a government ban of ash dumping.

"It is exciting to witness the progressive movement of developing the supply chain to support the increasing industry demand on gas that can benefit the economy and the environment for the Great Lakes region and the maritime industry," said Dr. Michael G. Parsons, professor emeritus of naval architecture and marine engineering, University of Michigan.

The Great Lakes Marine Research Institute is currently being supported through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration (MARAD), Office of the Environment, to research and study moving the Great Lakes shipping industry to natural gas.

This project is investigating the feasibility of conversion of the 10 remaining steam powered U.S. Great Lakes bulk carriers to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) fueled propulsion.

These vessels have the worst air emissions within the U.S. bulk carrier fleet and are currently grandfathered relative to EPA requirements. After conversion, they would have the lowest air emissions.

"From a practical standpoint, the Great Lakes steamship bulk carriers will be unable to meet current air emissions standards unless they are converted to either diesel or LNG propulsion," wrote Dr. Parsons and associates, Patrick O'Hern and Samuel Denomy. "Their steam plants are also very inefficient by current standards and they require greater manning."

Since the initiation of this effort with MARAD and GLMRI less than two years ago, natural gas in the U.S. shipping industry has moved from concept to engineering design and utilization.

But the U.S. is far behind some other nations in this maritime arena: for example, Norway converted its shipping fleet to natural gas a decade ago.

Presentations from the latest meeting on the proposed conversion are available on the GLMRI web page: www.glmri.org/research/

GLMRI has received a five year cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration (MARAD), to address environmental issues that face shipping and marine transportation.

GLMRI is working with the Lake Michigan Carferry Service and marine engineering experts in exploring the feasibility of converting the S.S. Badger to run its engines on natural gas. The team will be modeling the vessel's fuel consumption, routes, shore fueling station(s) and engineering to look at the viability of using natural gas.

The demonstration project will also consider training needs and shipyard implications of the power conversions. The S.S. Badger, a 410 foot long ferry, entered service in 1953, designed specifically to handle the rough conditions during year 'round sailing on Lake Michigan.

The S.S. Badger sails daily between Manitowoc, Wisconsin and Ludington, Michigan from mid-May through mid-October. Converting the vessel to natural gas as a primary fuel could have the potential to make the S.S. Badger one of the "greenest" vessels operating on the Great Lakes.

Norway has operated natural gas powered ferries for a decade and is building natural gas powered Coast Guard vessels. The European Union (EU) has embarked on an approximately $14 million study on converting vessels operating in the Baltic and other Emission Control Areas to using natural gas as a primary fuel.

GLMRI through the U.S. government will be engaged in cooperative exchange with the EU research team. GLMRI, working with MARAD, will explore potential collaboration with Canadian researchers in using natural gas as a maritime fuel.

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Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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