Democrat Gov. Candidate Ferguson Gives Nod to Calls for Two New Diesel Boats for WSF Fleet

UPDATED Monday, April 15, 2024, 9:55 a.m.

Bob Ferguson — Washington Attorney General and leading candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination for Governor — has recently broken with the position on new diesel boats for Washington State Ferries staked out by incumbent Governor Jay Inslee and many Democrats in the Legislature.

During the “supplemental session” of the legislature this year (early January through early March), Inslee stated that new diesel-powered ferry boats could not be built any faster than the 2028 best-case delivery date for new hybrid electric ferry boats. WSDOT’s plan to purchase only hybrid electric ferry boats of the future is considered to be a signature achievement of the Inslee administration.

In January 2018, Inslee issued an executive order that effectively canceled the construction of a new diesel-powered boat in the style of the M/V Suquamish, which cost the State $122 million and was delivered in July 2018. The same “Executive Order 18-01” also required that WSDOT “begin the transition to a zero-carbon-emission ferry fleet.” The boat that was canceled (or postponed for a decade) would have been the fifth of five Olympic Class vessels with a capacity for 144 vehicles and 1,500 passengers. That fifth boat — whenever it is built — will be named the M/V Wishkah, and it will work the Mulilteo-Clinton route, alongside the Suquamish. No new boats have been delivered since 2018, nor are any more new boats expected until 2028.

Six years after the Executive Order, the number of WSF vessels considered by WSDOT to be in a “State of Good Repair” is now down to eight (of 21).

While Democrats chose not to label the state of WSF “a crisis,” Inslee has been pledging to do “everything humanly possible as quickly as humanly possible.” But Ferguson is calling the situation a crisis.

During this year’s supplemental session, most Democrats echoed Inslee’s belief that new diesel ferry boats could not be built faster than hybrid electric boats that are still on the drawing board. However, Republican legislators, including State Senator Ron Muzzall (10th District, including Whidbey Island), as well as a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor Dave Reichert have called for WSDOT to order new diesel boats as soon as possible. In the CNL2 interview in December, Muzzall called for four new diesel boats.

Both Muzzall (on December 22, 2023) and Reichert (on February 10, 2024) stated their support of new diesel boats for WSF in separate interviews on CNL2. Reacting to Ferguson’s unveiling of a plan for WSF, many Republicans, including Reichert, chided Ferguson for not advocating diesel boats until now.

In media interviews last week, and on his campaign website, Ferguson said he will, if elected, “immediately issue two new ferry construction request for proposals (RFPs) for two boats to be delivered as soon as possible, including diesel ferries if this is the fastest solution, and a separate RFP for three hybrid-electric boats.”

The ordering of two new diesel-propulsion boats would be a one-off action, and Ferguson envisions other new boats would be hybrid electric, and the electrification project of WSF would continue.

Ferguson’s plan has two more planks that may speak directly to San Juan County voters. He said, as Governor, he will, “partner with local elected officials in impacted communities to implement their proposed reforms. For example, [he] will implement the reforms proposed by the San Juan County and Town of Friday Harbor Councils, supported by business and political leaders from the San Juan Islands from November 2023.”

And Ferguson said he will if elected, “address the crisis by partnering with local governments to increase the use of passenger-only ferries as a short-term, bridge solution until the state can improve the health of its fleet.

To read Ferguson’s nine-point plan for WSF, click here.

What do you think? Your polite and constructive comments will be published below.