Eliminating Emissions, Cutting Congestion and Expanding Markets - Voila!
"Connecticut has two highways, one is a parking lot, the other a museum," former Governor Dan Malloy once commented.
Bob Kunkel, a merchant mariner, ship builder, and owner of Harbor Harvest, a hip cafe in East Norwalk, has spent much of his long career seeking to mitigate that problem. Last Friday he offered an expansive and illuminating talk about about his newest venture, his "vertical business plan."
At the heart of this plan is the Long Island Sound, a "Marine Highway," and one of the many coastal and inland waterways used to facilitate the movement of goods and people. This use saves time and reduces highway congestion and wear and tear - and, in Kunkel's case, eliminates pollution.
He recently took delivery of the first of four zero emission hybrid powered catamarans and will soon begin transporting artisanal agricultural products "from farm to harbor to market" between Norwalk and Huntington, Long Island. Each crossing will take 45 minutes. In contrast, truck shipment requires nine to 12 hours.
The vessel is 65 feet long, has an aluminum hull, and is powered by a lithium ion battery that drives it to a top speed of 16 knots. It has a capacity of 19,800 pounds of pallet packed products, some portion of which can be transported in the 1,500 cu ft walk in refrigerator. It cost $2.8 million, and was built by Derecktor Shipyards in Mamaroneck.
Kunkel is a merchant mariner by education, and entrepreneur by choice, and a visionary by disposition. A recent New York Times article called him a "retired marine engineer." His talk told us there's nothing retired about him.
His strategy has a bit of a back to future look. Much of this country was settled along waterways because they were essential to getting products to market - Westport was the largest supplier of onions to the Union army during the Civil War. Many farmers used the Saugatuck River to barge their goods to the Sound. There loads were consolidated and transported elsewhere in larger vessels (in effect, using the marine highway of the day).
Change came when President Eisenhower opened the federal highway system in 1956. These new roads brought on a shift of commerce from water and rail to trucks. Today these roads are clogged, they are in ill repair, our air is getting worse, and there does not appear to be a savior riding to our rescue.
At the same time there is now a truck driver shortage. Truckers are being forced to pay up. Then as diesel fuel approaches $5.00/gallon trucks become less competitive.
Kunkel and his team met recently with Governor Ned Lamont and his Economic Development team. He particularly mentioned Indra Nooyi, who retired as PepsiCo's CEO last year. Her charge is assisting the governor in attracting new business. She believes applying innovations such as the Marine Highway can play an important part in her efforts.
He also offered a few interesting side notes. He believes the internal combustion engine is "near its death, and that most cars will be electric by 2025." That soon?
Air space between Norwalk and Huntington is outside that required by the area airports, which makes it available for drone use. He said he is in discussion with a manufacturer of one that will launch from a vessel and is capable of making 15 minute flights carrying up to 200 pounds.
He also said that the Hunts Point Market in the Bronx, the area's food distribution hub, sends out 28,000 trucks per day. The city and state of New York have expressed interest in using the marine highway to ease highway congestion. This has fostered Kunkel's interest in purchasing land to build a nearby marine terminal.
Another potential project is employing 150 passenger water taxis to transport commuters from Connecticut to New York City. He sees trips taking a bit longer than MetroNorth, but his taxis would provide WiFi, and presumably offer a bit more personal space - and maybe even coffee.
But he noted that the traffic and the need for parking could suffer NIMBY resistance. He added that millennials may obviate some of this problem because they prefer Uber or Lyft to driving themselves. And, in the future they will use autonomous cars as extensions of their workplace, and that they can send home when they reach their destination.
Taken together, the plan he presented seems a meaningful, sensible and realistic approach to addressing some of our most basic transportation needs.
