New York Bought an Electric Ferry. The City Can’t Charge It.

Last year, New York’s leaders hailed the launch of a $33 million ferry that can run on electricity, saying the vessel was a bold step toward making the city’s transportation system cleaner. Even the ferry’s name, Harbor Charger, highlighted its ability to power up its Norwegian-made battery with electricity from the local grid. But the hybrid ferry, which does a roughly half-mile run between Lower Manhattan and Governors Island in New York Harbor, still lacks a charging station.

That means it has to run on diesel, whose price has soared during the war with Iran. Electric ferries are being introduced around the world as a way to cut carbon emissions from ships, which burn diesel and fuel oil. In the United States, many states and cities have tapped federal and state funds to pay for clean ferries. But some of these places have found that it can take time — and more money than expected — to build stations to charge the vessels.

Getting powerful electrical lines to docks has proved challenging. In Washington State, a diesel-electric ferry in operation won’t have a charging station until 2029. Georgia planned for a clean ferry that would travel between Meridian and Sapelo Island on the state’s coast, but the project was canceled in part because of the expense of building a charging station, a state official said. Maine may be an exception. The state plans to put a diesel-electric ferry into service next month.

Its charging dock has been ready since 2024. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .