SEATTLE — As the state’s ferries age, Washington State Ferries expects it won’t find a builder for its new class of hybrid-electric boats until summer of 2024, kicking off a sprint to deliver two new vessels by its target date of late 2027.
The protracted process is the result of an overhauled approach to ferry construction in Washington state that now allows for out-of-state builders to bid on contracts — a change from the in-state requirements of the previous decades.
The Legislature made the change last session after negotiations with Vigor, the state’s primary partner in ferry construction since the late 1990s, fell apart in 2022. The state was set to release a request for bids in 2023 to find a replacement but paused to rewrite the notice following the newly expanded landscape.
The new boats, which will eventually run on electric power, are one piece of a green “revolution” promised by Gov. Jay Inslee. When charging equipment is installed at terminals around Puget Sound — by 2026 at the earliest — the boats’ significant diesel emissions are slated to largely disappear.
At the same time, the state’s 21-boat fleet needs new ships. Washington should have 26 boats, which would allow WSF to swap in replacements whenever and wherever they’re needed. Currently, just 15 are in use, according to a WSF presentation given to legislators Monday; the others are out for planned and unplanned maintenance and the Wenatchee is being converted to hybrid-electric power.
According to the state, just nine of the 21 boats are in good shape. Thirteen are due for retirement by 2040, three of them within the next several years. Emergency repairs have become common, such as when the ferry Walla Walla lost a blade on one of its propellers this summer, just months after it lost power due to fuel contamination on board.
WSF expects to begin answering contractors’ questions this fall before opening the bidding process in the spring.
When looking for a new builder, the state will have to balance timing, cost and whether the company has acceptable labor and environmental safeguards. So far, the state has heard from 12 companies interested in being the prime contractor, Chad Rous, WSF’s vessels engineer program manager, told lawmakers Monday. Several are from Washington and Oregon, one is from San Diego and the others are from gulf states, where the oil industry has spurred a robust shipbuilding industry.
The state has budgeted $1.3 billion to build five new hybrid-electric boats, convert three to hybrid-electric and begin electrifying the terminals. But during negotiations, Vigor said its price for one boat would be over $400 million, far higher than the roughly $200 million state estimates.
During a Monday presentation to the Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee, Rep. Jake Fey, D-Tacoma, asked how the state would bridge the apparent gap between its estimates and the actual cost — an issue plaguing all of the state’s transportation projects.
Rous said staff were in the process of identifying the risks of the project and trying to build them into the final cost.
“We are identifying risks, mitigating the risks and then we’ll use external experts to estimate the actual value of the contract,” said Rous.
It’s not yet known where the state will get the money for the pricier-than- expected ferries.
The other issue plaguing service is crew shortages. Nicole McIntosh, WSF’s deputy assistant secretary, told the Legislature that WSF has made progress this year, but the agency still remains short. The largest challenge has been bringing on new licensed deck officers.
“We need 200 licensed deck officers to reliably operate service on all routes,” she told lawmakers Monday. “Currently we have about 185 that are able to work in the fleet.”
