Yesterday, Governor Bob Ferguson announced a significant development for Washington's transportation infrastructure, selecting Eastern Shipbuilding Group for a $714.5 million contract to construct three new 160-vehicle hybrid-electric ferries. As reported by the Governor's office, this marks a notable shift in the state's approach to ferry construction, being the first competitive bid process the Washington State Ferries (WSF) has engaged in over two decades.
The decision to move forward with Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group came after a year-long process that involved a detailed back-and-forth to ensure clarity and pre-qualification of interested shipyards. With Eastern's bid coming 6% below WSF's engineer's estimate, Governor Ferguson deemed it the best option to build these critically important vessels at a fair cost to our taxpayers. Moreover, the initiative is set to quickly restore domestic ferry service to levels not seen before the pandemic.
As per the Governor's office, Steve Nevey, Deputy Transportation Secretary for WSF, expressed excitement about the advancements, "As we follow Governor Ferguson’s direction to focus on service, it’s exciting, as we restore additional vessels on three routes, to also move forward with constructing new ferries." The project's funding encompasses not just the shipyard bid, but an additional rough sum of $150 million for the first vessel covering equipment, management, training, and contingencies, bringing the total for the first ferry to around $405 million, with subsequent vessels costing slightly less due to the anticipated reduction in risk and contingencies after each build.
Improvements in the state’s ferry system have been a key focus for Governor Ferguson, who has previously announced delays to the hybrid-electric conversion of two of the state's largest ferries to allow for uninterrupted service for the projected 2026 World Cup events.
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