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- The Hornblower Hybrid will depart on its first cruise out of New York Harbor on New Year’s Eve.
BY ALINE REYNOLDS | Glass panels with 360-degree views, swanky chairs and tables and a sleek bar made out of recycled Sky Vodka bottles are just some of the eye-opening features of a new vessel, soon to be ferrying tourists and diners around New York Harbor from Battery Park and Pier 40.
Hornblower Hybrid, the first hydrogen-powered hybrid vessel on the east coast, made its first trip into the harbor in late October to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. The 168-foot, three-level commercial passenger boat, slated to launch at the end of the month, is powered by solar and wind energy, thereby drastically minimizing its consumption of diesel fuel.
It’s only the second type of vessel in the U.S. to be powered by alternative forms of energy, according to Hornblower Cruises and Events, a California-based charter, dining cruise and ferry service company responsible for its creation.
The new, 600-passenger hybrid vessel, now stationed at Hornblower’s regional operator Statue Cruise’s docking area at Liberty State Park, will join a fleet of nearly 20 vessels that host corporate and private events, dinner cruises and afternoon trips throughout New York Harbor. The new vessel’s nightly dinner cruises, which entail a seven-mile loop around New York Harbor, passing by iconic landmarks such as the South Street Seaport, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Chrysler Building, will cost an average of $75 per person. Private (or chartered) cruises, meanwhile, will typically range from $65 to $300 per head, according to Keir Moorhead, project engineer for Hornblower and the vessel’s creator.
While one objective, according to Moorhead, was to engineer a visually impressive vessel, another was “to make one of the most energy-efficient vessels in the nation, and also provide a platform to showcase new alternative energy techniques and products.”
The Hornblower Hybrid appears to break the mold in terms of environmental standards. It runs on renewable energy produced by hydrogen cells, solar panels, and wind turbines. It also boasts recycled carpets, aluminum wall coverings and light-emitting diode (L.E.D.) lighting and T.V. screens. Most of the vessel’s power is generated by a fuel cell responsible for converting hydrogen into electricity, heat, and water.
Though the Hornblower Hybrid mimics traditional vessels in having a diesel fuel combustion engine, the engine is used sparsely, since the boat’s 30,000-pound, electric battery, located below deck, stores enough energy to allow the vessel to operate in near zero carbon emissions mode during its cruises.
Additional hydrogen-based fuel cells will be installed mid-next year to make the vessel even “greener,” according to Moorhead.
Hornblower Cruises and Events doesn’t have statistics to compare the NYC hybrid vessel with the company’s other two west coast hybrids, yet. However, the New York vessel’s sister vessel in San Francisco has energy-savings equivalent to removing 58 cars from the road and planting 90 acres worth of trees, according to Hornblower.
The vessel’s decor will be adaptable to corporate parties as well as weddings, proms and birthdays. Catering and food service is part of Hornblower’s all-inclusive package, as the vessel is equipped with a full-service kitchen and trained chefs that can whip up buffets, catered bites and a la carte meals. Passengers will be offered a choice of meal selections via a computer tablet.
Hornblower will also provide DJs that will operate the vessel’s surround sound stereo system for chartered events.
“We’ll do anything — we’ll put boats anywhere you need them put, and we’ll decorate them however,” said Moorhead.
The vessel also has an environmentally friendly heating, ventilation and air conditioning (H.V.A.C.) unit that strictly regulates the boat’s temperature. “The glass and atrium area has special ultraviolet coatings and thermal transfer coatings to try to keep the heat and cool in,” said Moorhead.
While most vessels run their lights at all times during active operation, the new hybrid only uses lighting when necessary, thus expending about one-quarter the amount of light energy used by a conventional vessel. The hybrid’s L.E.D. lighting can shine any color of the spectrum, Moorhead pointed out, allowing companies to highlight the color themes of their logos, and individuals to color-coordinate parties to their desire.
“With very conventional-looking lights,” Moorhead said, “we can have a lot of flare and turn this into a night club instantly.”
The Hornblower Hybrid will make its first cruise in New York Harbor on New Year’s Eve, departing at 10 p.m. from Pier 40 and returning to the west side pier at 1:30 a.m. Tickets cost $350 per person. For more information, call 201-604-2800, or e-mail nyevents@hornblower.com.
