(The Center Square) – The construction of three new hybrid-electric ferries to help the Washington State Department of Transportation reach its goal of a fully emission-free fleet will cost $1.09 billion.
On Tuesday, Gov. Bob Ferguson selected Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group to construct the three new 160-vehicle hybrid-electric ferries. The shipbuilding group bid $714.5 million to construct the ferries, which was 6% lower than the estimate of Washington State Ferries’ engineer.
“After careful consideration and conversations with legislative leaders, I believe Eastern is the best option to build these critically important vessels at a fair cost to our taxpayers,” Ferguson said in a Tuesday news release.
Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Centralia, noted that the Washington-based company, Nichols Brothers, offered a bid that was more $350 million higher than the winning bid.
“That difference is staggering and should serve as a wake-up call to lawmakers who continue passing laws that damage our state’s competitiveness,” Barkis said in a news release. “Washington shouldn’t be a place where our workers get priced out of building our ferries.”
On top of the $714.5 million bid, the first vessel to be built has an additional $150 million in costs for equipment, construction management, ferry crew training, and risk contingencies, according to Ferguson’s office.
The first vessel will cost $405 million, the second will cost $360 million, and the third has a price tag of $325 million.
WSDOT aims to add five hybrid electric ferries to its existing fleet by 2030, and convert its entire ferry system to hybrid-electric power by 2040.
The state’s 2025-27 budget dedicates nearly $900 million from the transportation allocation to ferry system capital projects. More than half of that money is for new vessel builds and electrification efforts.
According to WSDOT, its Ferry System Electrification Program is estimated to cost $3.98 billion, with $1.68 billion currently funded. Of that $1.68 billion, $1.03 billion comes from Move Ahead Washington, a 16-year, $16.9 billion transportation funding package passed by the Legislature in 2022, and $599 million from the Climate Commitment Act.
Improving the state’s ferry system is a top priority of the Ferguson administration. In March, the governor established a plan to delay the hybrid-electric conversion of two larger ferries, the Tacoma and Puyallup, until after Seattle hosts 2026 FIFA World Cup matches next summer.
As a result, WSF expects to return to full domestic service this summer, which has not happened since 2019. Last month, the state added a second vessel to its Bremerton route, which cut wait times for travelers by an hour, and a third vessel was added to its Triangle Route to West Seattle, Vashon Island and Southworth.
In May, the ferry Wenatchee was successfully converted to hybrid-electric and is expected to return to service sometime this month.
