Gov. Bob Ferguson awarded a contract to Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group July 1 to build three new 160-vehicle hybrid-electric vessels for Washington State Ferries.
The cost of the new ferries will be $405 million for the first vessel, $360 million for the second, and $325 million for the third. Delivery of the boats is expected to begin in 2029.
Washington-based Nichols Brothers Boat Builders was the only other competing bidder. Eastern’s bid was 6% lower than WSF’s estimates and lower than the competing bid from Nichols Brothers, Ferguson said.
“We’re restoring domestic service to pre-pandemic levels years ahead of schedule, improving crew retention, and soon will bring our first hybrid-electric vessel into service,” Ferguson said. “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.”
WSF reported an on-time performance for the Seattle-Bainbridge route at 82.5% between April 1 and June 30, compared to an average on-time performance of 90% systemwide for the same time period. Over 1.1 million passengers traveled on the Seattle-Bainbridge route between April 1 and June 30, per the agency.
