Construction begins on WA's first new ferry in over a decade
Construction begins on WA's first new ferry in over a decade
WA state ferries and Eastern Shipbuilding Group held a steel-cutting ceremony in Panama City, FL on Wednesday to mark the construction of WA's first new ferry in 11 years. They are beginning construction of the first new 160-vehicle hybrid-electric ferry.
SEATTLE - Washington's ferry system has not seen upgrades in a while, with 11 ferries over 40-years-old, including a 67-year-old vessel. Currently, the state has 21 active vessels, where the ferry system requires 26 ferries to effectively operate.
Governor Bob Ferguson announced Wednesday, that construction has begun on the first new ferry—a 160-vehicle hybrid-electric vessel—for the first time in over a decade, to fulfill his pledge to reform and rebuild the state's ferry system.
WA state contracted with Eastern Shipbuilding Group, a shipbuilder based in Panama City, FL to build the vessels.
And, selecting Eastern saved WA state taxpayers approximately $240 million.
WA leaders and heads of the shipbuilding group held a steel-cutting ceremony in Panama City to celebrate the milestone. The governor did not attend, to be present in WA for the wildfires.
How many new ferries will WA have?
In the contract with Eastern, the state will have two new ferries, with an option for a third. The governor announced he opted for the third vessel.
The three ferries will be $714.5 million, with additional costs for owner-furnished equipment, construction management, WSF crew training and risk contingencies, bringing the total cost of the three vessels to $1.15 billion. The governor's office said that cost is considerably less than the $1.3 billion appropriated by the legislature.
For comparison, the alternative bid would have cost taxpayers $1.39 billion, would have exceeded the appropriation by nearly $100 million and would have only been able to build two boats, according to the governor's office.
When are the ferries expected to be delivered to WA?
Eastern Shipbuilding Group is expected to deliver the first ferry in 2030, the second in 2031 and the third in 2032, according to the governor's office. For reference on this timeline, the last new vessel for WSF—the Suquamish—began construction in May 2015 and was delivered in 2018.
The bidding process for the ferries was competitive, with a bidder in the state of WA and Eastern Shipbuilding Group, but in July 2025, the governor selected Eastern, which was more than 30% lower than the alternative bidder.
The Source: Information in this story came from the governor's office of communications.
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