Gov. Ferguson postpones hybridization of 2 largest WSF vessels – orders restoration of all routes except Sidney

Thursday, March 6, 2025
by Jeff Noedel
with video from TVW

Today at Washington State Ferries’ Colman dock in Seattle, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson announced his decision to restore all WSF routes — but one — to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. To accomplish that, he announced another decision to postpone the electrification of two Jumbo Mark II vessels.

The first of three Jumbo Mark II’s — the M/V Wenatchee — has been in dry dock at Vigor Industries in Seattle for 1-1/2 years while it has been adapted for electric service. That project is past deadline and $36 million over budget, in part because of costly inaccuracies in the schematics that were on file for the vessel.

The Wenatchee is now expected to return to service in June. Had the second Jumbo Mark II been pulled for its electrification, it would have continued the cascading effects of the absence of one of the trio of largest vessels. By delaying the start of the next electrification project until 2026, it is possible to restore full service to all domestic WSF routes. Only the international Anacortes-Friday Harbor-Sidney, B.C. route will still be in suspense. WSF has promised repeatedly that the Sidney route will be restored in 2030.

With the Wenatchee, WSF will have 18 vessels in the service with three vessels rotated out of scheduled maintenance, enough to run full domestic service for the first time since 2019.

Ferguson addressed citizens who might be disappointed in a pause in the fleet’s electrification. He said,

“We’re proud (the Wenatchee) will be Washington’s first hybrid electric ferry. What used to be one of our fleet’s biggest polluters will soon be our cleanest ferry. Providing a model for the future of clean transportation.

“Reducing Washington’s carbon footprint is important to the people in the State, and it’s important to me. It’s a worthy investment. I’m excited about the Wenatchee. But right now, we have to balance a lot of priorities. And right now the priority is returning to full domestic service.

“I made that decision to delay that conversion for a very simple reason: and that is to restore our domestic service to pre-pandemic levels. That is the North Star for my decision-making as we move forward on addressing the crisis that we’re facing.

The World Cup is also a factor. “The increase in demand caused by these major events will put additional stress on an already strained system. That would be the wrong time to have our biggest, busiest vessels out of service over the next couple years.”

Ferguson repeated the previously announced schedule for the building of five new hybrid vessels, stating that bids for shipbuilders will be opened in early April, and contracts will hopefully be signed in June.

To that, he added a new idea. He said he has directed WSF to explore opportunities to enter into lease-purchase arrangements for additional vessels.

VASHON ISLAND CELEBRATING TONIGHT

For years now, Vashon has been limping along with only two of its three boats in service in the “triangle route” that operates from the north end of the island. On rare occasions, such as its annual strawberry festival, WSF operated the third vessel for a single weekend. In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Vashon Island’s “Islanders for Ferry Action” wrote:

This is a direct result of sustained community action. Islanders for Ferry Action and, critically, the regional Fix Our Ferries coalition, tagged the situation as a ferry crisis and mobilized thousands of emails, calls, and meetings to demand accountability and investment. Vashon has fought for fair and equitable ferry service, and today we see the impact of our voices. This is a huge win, but we must stay engaged to ensure continued progress. We are incredibly grateful to Governor Ferguson for fulfilling his promise to Vashon, and for the work behind the scenes at WSF to make this happen. We also thank the crews who work hard every single day to get us where we need to go.

IFA steering committee members reacted with joy and gratitude to the announcement. “In these times, it’s heartening to know that a group of everyday people can organize around a problem and get results. We’re so proud of the actions our community took, the response of our elected leaders, and the outcome we finally achieved,” said Beth Lindsay, Islanders for Ferry Action steering committee member, who serves along with Wendy Aman and Rick Wallace.

Wallace echoed: “In all my years of community work on Vashon, I have never experienced such a turnaround. When we started, we heard over and over again that we had taken on an impossible task. The people who said it couldn’t be done did not reckon with the people of Vashon who hit the ground running to solve even the most challenging community problems. We thank them. Everyone should thank them.”