New York City officials want to deploy a fleet of fully electric refrigerated barges on the waterways to replace diesel-spewing trucks that haul food in and out of Hunts Point in the Bronx.
Documents published by the city's Economic Development Corporation on Thursday show the agency is seeking experts to develop plans to launch the electrified barges when it opens a new port next to the Hunts Point produce and fish markets in 2030.
“The barge service will create a direct link between imported food commodities arriving at [Brooklyn Marine Terminal] and distribution hubs in the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center,” according to the EDC documents.
The EDC said the plan is part of its “Blue Highways” initiative, which over the last three years has pushed to move some of the city’s freight off the streets and onto the rivers. The EDC plans to establish hubs at barge landings across the city, where workers can unload goods from the barges onto electric cargo bikes for “last-mile delivery.”
“Leveraging marine transportation, this service will bypass congested highways, reducing emissions, roadway wear and operational risk,” the EDC documents said. “It will also contribute to citywide decarbonization goals by deploying next-generation marine vessel technology and supporting shoreside infrastructure.”
The proposed barge service will carry between 100 and 150 shipping containers. Currently, food coming in from the Caribbean and Latin America lands at Port Newark or the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, and gets shipped up to Hunts Point via truck.
The EDC said more than 25,000 trucks pass the George Washington and Verrazzano-Narrows bridges every day, and estimates the volume of freight in New York City will increase 67% over the next 20 years.
With funds from congestion pricing, the city is also replacing diesel-burning refrigeration units that store food at Hunts Point with electric alternatives to reduce air pollution in the Bronx.
The new Hunts Point port will be located at the former site of the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center, a floating jail that was decommissioned and scrapped for parts last year.
Electric barge technology is a relatively new phenomenon. In 2018, the Netherlands became the first country to use a small fleet of both all-electric and autonomous container barges to transport goods between European ports — with a similar goal of removing diesel-powered truck trips from the continent’s roads.
