The Port of New York and New Jersey has been experiencing increased utilization and efforts are underway to expand the facility. Part of this expansion includes an enormous effort to deepen the major deep-water channels in the Port to facilitate larger vessels with increased capacities and draft. While growth is expected to bring significant economic benefits to the region in the long term, government, public and private stakeholders in the region recognize that increased shipping activity and the harbor deepening activities themselves could adversely impact air quality.

The Staten Island Ferry Emission Control Demonstration Project was one of several projects specifically conceived to reduce NOx emissions in the New York City metropolitan area, as a means to offset the emissions associated with the harbor deepening dredging activities over the next decade. The Staten Island Ferry service is one of the premier commuter transportation routes in NYC, with service provided around the clock. It is both a large source of NOx emissions and a highly visible public service.

The Alice Austen is one of several vessels used to provide Staten Island Ferry Service between Staten Island and Manhattan.  Emission controls consisting of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) in combination with a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) was implemented as a proof-of-concept retrofit demonstration on the Alice Austen.

This ferry system is operated by the New York City Department of Transportation and the project was undertaken in cooperation with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  The project activities spanned from early 2003 to early 2006.  Documentation of this first of it's kind retrofit in the U.S. includes discussion of the process used to implement the project, including the choice of control technology, preliminary data collection, technology bid specification, system installation, marine regulatory approvals, and emission testing.