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diesel generators, making the vessels much cleaner to operate.
130 • Red and White Fleet
OPPOSITE: The Enhydra, the Red with the Port of San Francisco in 2019 for fifteen years and two In the Whitehall boatmen days, the company’s only exhaust
Because hydrogen is a renewable resource and the fuel-cell and White Fleet’s first hybrid vessel, five-year extensions, which adds stability to the company and was the carbon dioxide in the crew’s breath. With the addition
process does not release harmful byproducts into the air or water, sits docked at Pier 43½. As part of the allows them to continue building their legacy business at Pier of the Enhydra in 2018, and with the likely launch of GGZEM’s
this represents a huge leap forward in engine technology. “The company’s transition to cleaner energy, 43½, which has been their home since the 1940s. The renewal Water-Go-Round in 2019, it is a tremendous step towards
she is designed to be able to run
maritime industry, because of safety concerns, has always without diesel once there is a reliable will allow them to move forward with exciting improvement returning to the Bay’s original state of zero emissions. As
been a slow adopter of technology,” says Burgard. “There solar power source at her dock. projects at the pier, including a new ticket booth and boarding Escher describes the early days of his grandfather’s company
are currently no vessels in the United States that have been area upgrades, all scheduled to be completed by January 2022. and his goals for the Red and White Fleet’s sustainable future:
approved by the Coast Guard for hydrogen fuel cell operation.” THIS PAGE: A computer model of Like his grandfather, Escher is staying at the forefront of maritime “The only exhaust Tom Crowley had was coming out of his
By cooperating with institutions like the Coast Guard and the Water-Go-Round, the much- technology. But this time around, it’s not only to stay competitive mouth . . . So [our goal is] no change in 127 years. We’re trying
anticipated new vessel being made by
California Climate Investments, GGZEM is moving the needle Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine in business—it’s also to do the right thing by the environment to go back to zero pollution.”
on what is possible in sustainable maritime transport, led by (logo below). Its energy source of and by the people who work and spend time on the Bay.
Escher’s personal mission statement: “I don’t want to reduce hydrogen fuel cells will likely be the
pollution; I want zero pollution.” first of its kind in operation in the
While Escher is a long way from his early days working United States when it launches.
on board the fleet’s vessels, he has never been too far removed
from the environmental hazards of the maritime industry.
In his youth, when he had just begun working for his
grandfather’s company, he spent a day painting the inside of
a ship. “They’d send the painters down into the hold to paint
the inside of the tank, and they’d put an oxygen mask over
because it’s all spray paint. I did that one day to help . . . and
when I came out of there, I had a high that took me a week to
get rid of.” Thankfully, as technology has improved, Escher has
taken advantage of ways to reduce the Red and White Fleet’s
impact on its environment and crew. The company’s eventual
goal? Full electrification of their fleet.
It’s an exciting time for the company, with technology
racing ahead and gaining momentum, echoing the rapid
technological improvements Tom Crowley would have
experienced in the first decades of the twentieth century.
Additionally, Red and White Fleet finalized a lease renewal
The Future • 131