A new hybrid, 350-passenger vessel is now in operation at the Port of Los Angeles, the result of a Port-led partnership with Harbor Breeze Cruises, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and the Port of Long Beach.

The Harbor Breeze Cruises’ El Escudo harbor craft features some of the newest emission-reduction technologies on the market. The El Escudo will be berthed at the Port of Los Angeles and serve the San Pedro Bay ports.

The vessel features a parallel hybrid propulsion system, enabling operation in fully electric (zero-emission), diesel, or hybrid modes. It exceeds U.S. EPA Tier 4 and CARB Commercial Harbor Craft emissions standards.

As part of its operational plan, the vessel will operate at least 30% of the time in zero-emission mode, with some trips achieving 100% zero-emission operations, depending on route and runtime requirements.

Development and testing were conducted under the Los Angeles Marine Emission Reduction (LA MER) Project, supported by a $31 million CARB grant and $30 million in project partner matching funds, to test and evaluate two different harbor craft emission-reduction technologies. The Harbor Breeze Cruises Zero-Emission Advanced Technology (ZEAT) vessels and Catalina Channel Express high-speed ferry operating on renewable diesel with Tier 4 engines, are projected to reduce over 60 tons of emissions annually.

CARB is funding the grant through its Sustainable Heavy-Duty Initiatives for Future Technology, or SHIFT, an incentive fund supported by California Climate Investments.

Harbor Breeze Cruises invested $7.5 million in the vessel’s development and is advancing additional low- and zero-emission vessels. A second hybrid vessel under the LA MER project, with an additional $7.5 million in match share, and a third vessel, funded separately, are currently in development.

As part of the grant, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach each committed to contributing $250,000 to support a technology evaluation study of harbor craft vessels and technologies. Additionally, both Ports will provide funding for at least 50 excursion trips each on the zero-emission capable vessels over the twelve-month project demonstration period.

In addition to the CARB grant, the Port of Los Angeles has committed $2.45 million and the Port of Long Beach $1.05 million through the joint Technology Advancement Program to support the development of harbor craft charging infrastructure and additional vessel technologies that were not available at the time of the original grant award.