Recap of the Event: New York City’s Blue Highways Initiative


Watch the recording in case you missed it!

The event focused on New York City’s Blue Highways Initiative, a marine freight pilot program designed to utilize the city’s waterways for freight traffic. The initiative aims to improve infrastructure at marine terminals and reduce the number of polluting trucks in urban neighborhoods. This session featured several speakers discussing various aspects of the initiative and related efforts.

Opening Remarks

The event started with an overview of the Blue Highways Initiative, highlighting its potential to revitalize marine terminals and reduce truck traffic. The initiative’s history was briefly touched upon, emphasizing the long-standing interest in using waterways for freight.

Speaker Highlights

The first speaker was Liz, who provided a comparative lens using the Seine River in France to illustrate what’s happening with similar initiatives in Europe. Liz discussed the top-down approach often seen in European countries, where policymakers and scientists collaborate on large-scale environmental blueprints. For example, she mentioned the initiatives in Paris to ban polluting engines, which has spurred businesses to adapt to new environmental standards. Liz also highlighted the efforts of a company, Fluid’s, which uses electric boats and bicycles to deliver goods in Paris, serving clients like cafes, LVMH, and the American embassy.

Liz addressed questions about community consultation and workforce development. She noted that while top-down approaches are common in Europe, there are also incentives and training programs to transition workers, such as truck drivers, into maritime roles. Liz emphasized that the shift to electric and hydrogen-powered barges is creating new job opportunities, though the industry faces challenges in replacing an aging workforce of traditional boat captains.

Questions from the audience also touched on the environmental impact of freight transport and the infrastructure needed for waterways. Liz explained that freight transport accounts for about 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions. She shared examples from France where using barges has significantly reduced truck trips and carbon emissions. For instance, a single barge trip between Le Havre and Paris can remove up to 120 trucks from the road and save 18,000 truck trips annually.

Brad Vogel from Schooner Apollonia described their operations in moving goods by wind power. The Schooner Apollonia, built in 1946, is a steel-hulled vessel that uses sails and tides to transport freight along the Hudson River and New York Harbor. Vogel emphasized the environmental benefits of using wind power for transportation and the importance of maintaining and upgrading waterfront infrastructure to support such initiatives. He noted the importance of community engagement and public-private partnerships in promoting marine freight.

Jim Tampakis provided insights into the current state of marine freight in New York City, particularly focusing on Red Hook. He discussed the challenges posed by the influx of last-mile warehouses, which have increased truck traffic and congestion in the neighborhood. Tampacas advocated for using waterways to bring freight directly to these warehouses, reducing the number of trucks on the roads. He highlighted the potential of using electric tugs and cranes to handle containers and the cost savings associated with marine freight.

Ilana Mayid-Dennis from US Coastal Service shared her vision for a network of marine freight terminals connected by electrified vessels. The company aims to reduce trucking miles, noise pollution, and emissions by using electric marine vessels for freight transport. Dennis highlighted their plans to integrate renewable energy infrastructure at docking sites, including solar panels and battery storage, to achieve a zero-emission operation. She emphasized the need for public-private partnerships and subsidies to make marine freight competitive with traditional trucking. Dennis also mentioned ongoing pilots and the importance of scaling operations to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Jason Sahler from Strong Rope Brewery shared his experience with integrating marine freight into their supply chain. The brewery produces around 751 barrels of beer annually, sourcing malt from Western New York. Sahler explained their collaboration with Schooner Apollonia for transporting malted barley by water, which aligns with their commitment to using local ingredients and sustainable practices. He discussed the logistical challenges and expressed a desire to expand the use of waterways for freight. Sahler envisioned a future where malt could be transported from Rochester down the canal and Hudson River directly to the brewery, significantly reducing the need for trucks and easing congestion. He also highlighted the potential benefits of having the Schooner Apollonia deliver malt directly to the brewery’s waterfront location in Red Hook, enhancing sustainability and creating a unique supply chain

Meet the Speakers


Ilana Mayid-Dennis
is the president of US Coastal Service (USCS). Before joining USCS in its initial stages in 2020, she spent eight years in finance and completed her MBA at Duke University, focusing on energy, environment, and social entrepreneurship. She has worked for Amazon Logistics in their last-mile delivery station operations and has also conducted research for the World Wildlife Fund and Oceans 2050 on the blue economy. Mayid-Dennis rejoined USCS in late 2023 after three years at PayPal, managing the company’s ESG program. She graduated with her B.S. from Fordham University in 2010. 

Jason Sahler is originally from Rochester, New York (Go Bills!) and graduated from New York University with a degree in Sustainable Development. Prior to co-founding Strong Rope Brewery in 2015, Sahler was an award-winning homebrewer. Jason has lived in Brooklyn for the last 15+ years and is dedicated to promoting New York ingredients. He travels extensively throughout New York State, working with malt, hop, and beer producers from the Southern Tier to the Adirondack Region to Long Island’s North Fork.

Jim Tampakis was born in Brooklyn but was educated through high school in Athens, Greece.  He has an associate’s degree from NYC Community College (now City Tech) and a baccalaureate in marketing from Baruch College.

His love and obsession with the maritime industry and the waterfront began when he worked alongside his father in Red Hook, Brooklyn, in his company United Ship Repairs. The company employed 150 people and performed all kinds of marine repairs, coordinating with the other maritime trades also located along the Brooklyn waterfront. He honed his skills as a marine operations manager and traveled extensively through Southeast Asia and Europe, purchasing equipment and observing the manufacturing processes in those places.

In 2012, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Tampakis was recruited by the TBTA to repair or replace all the equipment in the pumping stations of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in order to get it operational as quickly as possible. The project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. He is a member of the NY Rising Committee and Resilient Red Hook and is a fervent supporter of renewing waterborne distribution and manufacturing industries along the Brooklyn waterfront.


Brad Vogel 
works as the supercargo for the sail freight vessel Schooner Apollonia, operating in New York and New Jersey since 2020. He also serves as Andrus Sustainable Logistics Fellow with the Center for Post Carbon Logistics, helping to expand the region’s green logistics network. A past captain of the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, Vogel is the author of the recently released poetry book Find Me In the Feral Pockets, which was just featured in The New Yorker. A graduate of Tulane Law School in New Orleans, he served as editor in chief of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal, practiced for six years in New York City, and ran a non-profit organization prior to his work in shipping.