Pasig ferry ride

Just today, I once more took a ride in the Pasig Ferry operated by the Nautical Transport Services Incorporated based in Manila, Philippines.

I noticed that the ferry took longer than usual to ply its route. It appears to me that it has been moving at a slower pace that what I have previously experience. What I noticed even more is the gas guzzling made when the ferry docks in and departs a station. At one station, it has to make a 180 degree turn to dock and do a reverse 180 to leave and move on to the next station. In another station, the ferry has to make a 90 degree turn to dock and also make a reverse 90 to leave.

I have heard that the ferry consumes about two thousand five hundred pesos worth of diesel fuel for a complete one way trip. And now I understand why.

Every time the ferry sets its engines to full reverse or use it to maneuver, I hear it rev up and I deduced that this eats up a lot of its diesel supply.

I have thought of the following cost effective means of running that service. I am not sure if it will work as I expect. But no pain, no gain so here it goes:

1. Change the hull from catamaran to a surface effect hull like the m-hull featured by the M Shipping Company located in San Diego, California. This will allow the ferry to increase speed at a shorter period of time and drop speed just as fast. Surface effect hulls "raise" the ship from the water when it increases speed due to its hydrodynamic feature. When the ship cuts power to its propellers, the loss of forward thrust degrades the "lifting" capacity of the hull that lowers it in water. The design of the hull uses the density of water as its brakes. So, let's say a ship can increase speed to 10 knots in 3 seconds, it can stop to 0 in just about the same time with this type of hull.

2. Locate stations away from obstructions like bridges and other docks. This will not require the ferries to maneuver too much. All it has to do is slow down, move to the side, and dock. No more turnings. No more backings. No more twists.

This will make the service more fuel efficient and cover its route much faster.