HMS

investment for technologyadvances,theylookat those operatingcostsaswell as rulesandregulations for clean air andcleanwater and lookforopportunities tomake thoseoperationsmoreefficientwhilekeepingsafetyat the forefront.Giventhegoal ofzeroemissions for this vessel,havingone thatmakesno liquiddischargesor anyadverseair emissionsbenefitsboththeenvironment andthecommunity.It’sa leadingtechnologyandtheEPA providesassistance formakingtransitiontonewtechnol- ogy,becauseoneof the rolesofgovernment is totakeon someof theexpenseandreduce riskfor earlyadoptersof technology.” HMSConsulting&Technical,based inSeattle,Wash- ington,providesbothconceptual andexistingoperations withtheexpert knowledgenecessarytosucceed inthe complexanddemandingmaritime industry.It focuses onthreeprimaryconsultingdisciplines:marine technical, regulatory,andbusinessconsulting.For start-up ven- tures,HMS Consulting can provide critical services such as feasibilityanalysis,concept and business plan development,financial modeling,andmarket research. When a start-up is ready to engage the infrastructure and logistics of its project,HMS Consulting can pro- videmarine site assessments,vessel identification and acquisition,vessel construction/conversionmanage- ment,operations planning,and financing options.For existing operations,the division offers a completely customized level of support that can take the company to a newlevel of optimized operational and financial performance. AmericanQueen Steamboat Company,currently based inMemphis,Tennessee,is HMS Global Mari- Global Maritime’s Chief OperatingOfficer.“Whilewe don’t own those vessels,we do handle all maintenance and operations.” Current HMS Ferries contracts include: Gee’s Bend Ferry in Camden,Alabama; Governors Island Ferry in NewYork,NewYork; Mobile BayFerry inMobile Bay, Alabama; Oklahoma CityRiver Cruises inOklahoma City,Oklahoma; Pierce CountyFerry in Pierce County, Washington; St.Johns River Ferry in Jacksonville,Flor- ida; Channel CatWater Taxi Service inMoline,Illinois; and RiverlinkFerry in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. Anewproject for HMS Ferries is the planned shift of a conventionally-powered,small passenger and car ferry in Gee’s Bend into the first all-electric ferry in the United States.“We’reworkingwith theAlabama De- partment of Transportation and the United States Envi- ronmental ProtectionAgency (EPA),which is providing a $1.8million grant,”saysTimAguirre,General Manag- er of HMS FerriesAlabama.“Right now,we’re looking to have that ferryoperational by late spring 2018,or perhaps the early summer.Currently,the extensive design and engineeringwork is in progress; themarine integrators have been selected andwe are getting ready to start ordering the hardware required for that project.There are a lot of maritime companies in the United States that are interested either in the all-elec- tricor some formof hybrid vessel,and ferries happen to be a verygoodway to introduce this technology.Our approach is innovative and it could be a groundbreak- ing project for themaritime industryintheUnitedStates.” “The two largest expenditures foroperatingavessel are themarinerswhooperate themandthe fuel burnedto get fromPointAtoPointB,”Jaenichenadds.“Asmaritime companies focusonfiscal responsibilityandreturnon HMS GLOBAL MARITIME AT A GLANCE HMS GLOBAL MARITIME WHAT: A full-service marine operator and maritime management company WHERE: New Albany, Indiana WEBSITE: www.hmsgm.com