Kitsap Transit has canceled several Kingston-Seattle fast ferry trips this summer, and the disruptions have piled up fast: boats on the route have missed 33 sailings since the start of August alone. The agency blames mechanical problems, and it has no backup vessel for the run, meaning a single breakdown can strand commuters with little warning. Officials are now telling riders to brace for more cancellations before the month is out.
According to The Seattle Times, transportation reporter Mike Lindblom reports that Kitsap Fast Ferries posted a 98% to 99% on-time performance rate in the first half of 2026 before this month's wave of breakdowns. Kitsap Transit has issued a service disruption alert that remains in effect through Aug. 31, warning that the outages could continue.
No Backup For The Aging M/V Finest
The trouble centers on the M/V Finest, a vessel built in 1996 that joined Kitsap Transit's fleet in 2018. The agency purchased the Finest from New York Waterway and invested $7.5 million to overhaul it before putting it into cross-sound service, according to Kitsap Transit.
Before it ever crossed Puget Sound, the Finest played a role in one of the largest maritime evacuations in American history. It arrived as the second commercial rescue vessel on scene during the boatlift that evacuated people fleeing the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Now the Finest sits docked waiting for parts. The Commander sailed the Kingston-Seattle route Wednesday in its place, and the paper notes that Kingston service could be reduced further if a vessel on another Kitsap Transit route breaks down and the fleet has to be reshuffled. The Washington State Standard has separately described the Finest as an older vessel prone to mechanical problems.
Mechanical Woes And Long Repair Waits
Kitsap Transit spokesperson Sanjay Bhatt told the paper that the recent run of missed sailings was out of the ordinary, and said the agency's boats have had mechanical issues while replacement parts have carried long repair lead times. Officials have promised customers an update by Friday.
The Kingston-Seattle route normally runs six round trips on weekdays and eight on Saturdays, covering a 39-minute crossing to Seattle's Pier 50, and Kitsap Fast Ferries serves roughly 100,000 monthly riders across its five routes, per the same report.
Bremerton Route Losing State Funding Next Month
The Kingston troubles aren't Kitsap Transit's only headache. The agency's Bremerton-Seattle foot ferry service is set to lose a $2.9 million state contribution on Sept. 1, cutting weekday service by about a third. The Sept. 1 cut will eliminate seven late-morning and weekday-evening round trips, dropping the schedule to 13 total and leaving a mid-day gap with no Seattle departures between 8:40 a.m. and 2:25 p.m., according to The Urbanist. Some of the trips being scrapped carry as few as 10 passengers on average.
Why The State Money Is Drying Up
Washington lawmakers first approved the extra Bremerton-Seattle ferry funding in 2022, after Washington State Ferries scaled back its own Bremerton route, and the state extended that stopgap money into summer 2026 to help move crowds tied to World Cup soccer matches, per a Kitsap Transit release. Washington State Ferries fully restored two-boat service on the Bremerton route in June 2025, and the temporary state subsidy is now set to lapse.
A Fleet Stretched Thin, With Millions In Unfunded Repairs
Kitsap Transit operates 10 ferry vessels, the second-largest passenger ferry fleet in Washington state, but the agency faces an estimated $300 million in unfunded capital replacement costs for eight of those boats, according to Kitsap Daily News. So far, Kitsap Transit has secured replacement funding for only two vessels.
The Finest itself is among those slated for retirement. The Federal Transit Administration awarded Kitsap Transit a $13.5 million grant in September 2024 to cover nearly 80% of a $17.5 million replacement vessel with eco-friendly Tier 4 engines, as reported by WorkBoat. A structural survey had determined that refurbishing the aging Finest instead would cost up to $17 million, with its hull and engines nearing the end of their operational life.
Record Ridership Meets A Capital Squeeze
The strain comes as demand keeps climbing. Kitsap Transit's passenger ferry network carried a record 1.22 million passengers in 2024, a 12% jump from the year before, with fast ferries accounting for 854,529 of those riders across three Seattle routes, per Kitsap Daily News. Ridership on the Kingston route alone jumped 46% between 2022 and 2024.
Expansion Plans Shelved Over Cost
Kitsap Transit's board reviewed a $300,000 state-funded study in March 2026 that evaluated new intra-county fast ferry routes linking Bremerton, Bainbridge Island, Silverdale and Manchester, but officials set the idea aside after projected capital costs came in between $40 million and $82 million, according to the Bainbridge Island Review. Per-rider costs on those routes were projected to run 220% to 250% higher than on Kitsap Transit's existing service.
A Statewide Push For More Ferry Districts
The pressure on Kitsap Transit's funding model hasn't stopped state lawmakers from trying to export it elsewhere. State Representative Greg Nance introduced the
