Washington State Ferries

This article is about the ferry system operated on Puget Sound by the state of Washington. For ferry systems in Washington state operated by other entities, see Ferries in Washington State.

Washington State Ferries

Locale	Washington
Waterway	Puget Sound, Salish Sea
Transit type	Ferry
Owner	Washington State Department of Transportation
Operator	Washington State Department of Transportation
Began operation	June 1, 1951 (1951-06-01)
No. of lines	10
No. of vessels	21
No. of terminals	20
Daily ridership	61,745 (2013)
Website	wsdot.wa.gov/ferries

Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals located around Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands, designated as part of the state highway system. The agency maintains the largest fleet of ferries in the United States at 23 vessels, carrying 24.2 million passengers in 2016. As of 2016, it was the largest ferry operator in the United States, and the fourth-largest ferry system in the world.

History

The ferry system has its origins in the "mosquito fleet", a collection of small steamer lines serving the Puget Sound area during the later part of the nineteenth century and early part of the 20th century. By the beginning of the 1930s, two lines remained: the Puget Sound Navigation Company (known as the Black Ball Line) and the Kitsap County Transportation Company. A strike in 1935 caused the KCTC to close, leaving only the Black Ball Line.

Toward the end of the 1940s, the Black Ball Line wanted to increase its fares, to compensate for increased wage demands from the ferry workers' unions, but the state refused to allow this, and so the Black Ball Line shut down. In 1951, the state bought nearly all of Black Ball's ferry assets for $5 million (Black Ball retained five vessels of its fleet). The state intended to run ferry service only until cross-sound bridges could be built, but these were never approved, and the Washington State Department of Transportation runs the system to this day.

In 2017, the Senate Labor, Commerce and Sports Committee held a fact finding hearing in Olympia in response to a report from KING-TV which analyzed the past five years of WSF financial data obtained through a request for public records. Transportation officials issued a statement saying, "the cash-strapped ferry system was cutting out excessive forms of compensation for many of its workers and saving millions of tax dollars in the process," while KING 5 Investigators showed WSF has been spending more on labor costs every year since 2012. Sen. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, chair of the committee, said, "the most troubling portion of the report centered on how types of compensation that were eliminated by the legislature and WSF management were quietly added back on, which led to the soaring labor costs." Baumgartner stated plans to introduce legislation that would make negotiating contracts an open process in the future. He cited a conflict of interest in the current protocol as labor unions are perennial supporters of the governor.

Routes

A map showing the routes operated by Washington State Ferries (in red) in comparison with Washington State highways (in yellow) and freeways, including Washington State and Interstate highways (in blue).

Route name	Terminals				State route designation	Annual Ridership	Annual Vehicles Carried	Notes
									Anacortes–Sidney BC	Sidney, British Columbia	Friday Harbor, San Juan Island		Anacortes	SR 20 Spur	123,001	42,589	Reservations recommended Only route that operates internationally Route does not operate in Winter (open mid-March to mid-December)
Anacortes–San Juan Islands	Friday Harbor, San Juan Island			2,009,438	947,064	Reservations recommended Not all trips serve all island terminals.
	Lopez Island
	Shaw Island
	Orcas Island
Interisland	Friday Harbor, San Juan Island	Orcas Island	Shaw Island			Lopez Island	Walk-on and vehicle passengers are not charged a fare on this route.
Port Townsend–Coupeville	Port Townsend			Coupeville, Whidbey Island	SR 20	819,285	372,130	Reservations recommended
Mukilteo–Clinton	Clinton, Whidbey Island			Mukilteo	SR 525	4,073,761	2,234,650
Edmonds–Kingston	Kingston			Edmonds	SR 104	4,114,181	2,127,315
Seattle–Bainbridge Island	Winslow, Bainbridge Island			Seattle (Colman Dock)	SR 305	6,429,853	1,929,617
Seattle–Bremerton	Bremerton			Seattle (Colman Dock)	SR 304	2,739,926	673,815
Fauntleroy–Vashon	Vashon Island			West Seattle (Fauntleroy)	SR 160	3,059,587	1,738,721	All three services operated together as a "triangle route."
Fauntleroy–Southworth	Southworth			West Seattle (Fauntleroy)
Southworth–Vashon	Southworth			Vashon Island		200,672	109,548
Point Defiance–Tahlequah	Tahlequah, Vashon Island			Tacoma (Point Defiance)	SR 163	812,786	473,924

Fleet

Washington State Ferry Tacoma

The Hyak in Rich Passage heading to Bremerton, WA.

The MV Chimacum arrives in Seattle for the first time with passengers on board, on May 24, 2017.

As of April 17, 2020, there are 21 ferries on Puget Sound operated by the state. The largest vessels in this fleet carry up to 2500 passengers and 202 vehicles. They are painted in a distinctive white and green trim paint scheme, and feature double-ended open vehicle decks and bridges at each end so that they do not need to turn around.

The ferry fleet consists of the following vessels:

Washington State Ferries Current fleet

Ferry Name	Class	Year Built (Rebuilt)	Auto Capacity	Passenger Capacity	Speed (knots)	Notes
MV Tillikum	Evergreen State	1959 (1994)	87	1061	13
MV Kaleetan	Super	1967 (2005)	144	2000	17
MV Yakima	Super	1967 (2005)	144	2000	17
MV Spokane	Jumbo	1972 (2004)	188	2000	18
MV Walla Walla	Jumbo	1973 (2003)	188	2000	18
MV Issaquah	Issaquah 130	1979 (1989)	124	1200	16	Auto capacity increased in 1989.
MV Kitsap	Issaquah 130	1980 (1992)	124	1200	16	Auto capacity increased in 1992.
MV Kittitas	Issaquah 130	1980 (1990)	124	1200	16	Auto capacity increased in 1990.
MV Cathlamet	Issaquah 130	1981 (1993)	124	1200	16	Auto capacity increased in 1993.
MV Chelan	Issaquah 130	1981 (2005)	124	1076	16	Upgraded to meet SOLAS standards for Sidney, BC route in 2005. Auto capacity increased in 2001.
MV Sealth	Issaquah 100	1982 (2006)	90	1200	16
MV Tacoma	Jumbo Mark II	1997	202	2500	18
MV Wenatchee	Jumbo Mark II	1998	202	2500	18
MV Puyallup	Jumbo Mark II	1999	202	2500	18
MV Chetzemoka	Kwa-di Tabil	2010	64	750	15
MV Salish	Kwa-di Tabil	2011	64	750	15
MV Kennewick	Kwa-di Tabil	2011	64	750	15
MV Tokitae	Olympic	2014	144	1500	17
MV Samish	Olympic	2015	144	1500	17
MV Chimacum	Olympic	2017	144	1500	17
MV Suquamish	Olympic	2018	144	1500	17

Retired vessels

MV Illahee was one of the Steel Electric class ferries which were retired in 2007.

MV Kalakala was retired in 1967

Since the beginning of state-run ferry service in 1951, WSF has retired many vessels as they have become older, too expensive to operate or maintain, or have become too small to provide adequate ferry service. WSF owned passenger-only vessels between 1985 and 2009, but after discontinuing its two passenger-only routes in the 2000s, WSF has sold its passenger-only ferries to other operators.

Below is a list of ferries that WSF has retired since 1951. Unless otherwise noted, all vessels introduced in 1951 were acquired from the Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSN), also known as the Black Ball Line, when the state took over the company's routes and ferryboats in Puget Sound.

Washington State Ferries Retired fleet

Ferry Name	Class	Year Built (Rebuilt)	Year in service	Year Retired	Auto Capacity	Passenger Capacity	Notes
MV Chippewa	None	1900 (1928/ 1932)	1951	1964	52	950	Converted to a car ferry in 1926
MV Leschi	None	1913	1951	1967	40	453	Previously owned by King County and used on Lake Washington
SS San Mateo	None	1922	1951	1969	50	659	Purchased by PSN in 1941
SS Shasta	None	1922	1951	1958	55	468	Purchased by PSN in 1941
MV Rosario	None	1923 (1931)	1951	1951	33	312
MV Kitsap (1925)	Anderson	1925	1951	1961	32	325
MV Crosline	None	1925 (1947)	1951	1967	30	300	Purchased by the state in 1947
MV Kehloken	Wood Electric	1926	1951	1972	50	770	Purchased by PSN in 1940
MV Kalakala	None	1926 (1935)	1951	1967	110	1943	Originally built as MV Peralta in 1926; rebuilt as Kalakala in 1935 using Peralta's hull
MV Enetai	Steel Electric	1927	1951	1967	90	1500	Purchased by PSN in 1940 and converted to a single-ended ferry
MV Willapa	Steel Electric	1927	1951	1967	90	1500	Purchased by PSN in 1940 and converted to a single-ended ferry
MV Chetzemoka (1927)	Wood Electric	1927	1951	1973	50	400	Purchased by PSN in 1938
MV Quinault	Steel Electric	1927 (1958/ 1985)	1951	2007	59	616	Purchased by PSN in 1940
MV Illahee	Steel Electric	1927 (1958/ 1986)	1951	2007	59	616	Purchased by PSN in 1940
MV Nisqually	Steel Electric	1927 (1958/ 1987)	1951	2007	59	616	Purchased by PSN in 1940
MV Klickitat	Steel Electric	1927 (1981)	1951	2007	64	412	Purchased by PSN in 1940
MV Klahanie	Wood Electric	1928	1951	1972	50	601	Purchased by PSN in 1940
MV Skansonia	None	1929	1951	1969	32	465	Operated under a state contract since 1940 after the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed
MV Vashon	Anderson	1930	1951	1980	50	646
MV Olympic	None	1938	1954	1993	55	605	Purchased by WSF in 1954
MV Rhododendron	None	1947 (1990)	1954	2012	48	546	Purchased by WSF in 1954, sold to Atlantic Capes Fisheries in 2013
MV Evergreen State	Evergreen State	1954 (1988)	1954	2016	87	854
MV Kulshan	None	1954	1970	1982	65	350	Purchased by WSF in 1970, sold in 1982 and renamed MV Governor
MV Klahowya	Evergreen State	1958 (1995)	1958	2017	87	792
MV Hyak	Super	1966	1967	2019	144	2000
MV Hiyu	None	1967	1967	2016	34	199
MV Elwha	Super	1967 (1991)	1968	2020	144	1069	Upgraded to meet SOLAS standards for Sidney, BC.
MV Tyee	None	1985	1985	2003	0	250	Operating as M/V Glacier Express in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska as of 2013
MV Kalama	Skagit/Kalama	1989	1989	2009	0	230	Sold in 2011
MV Skagit	Skagit/Kalama	1989	1989	2009	0	230	Sold in 2011; capsized on July 18, 2012
MV Chinook	Passenger-Only Fast Ferry	1998	1998	2008	0	350	Sold to Golden Gate Ferries, renamed MV Golden Gate
MV Snohomish	Passenger-Only Fast Ferry	1999	1999	2008	0	350	Sold to Golden Gate Ferries, renamed MV Napa

Other ferries

Main article: Ferries in Washington State

There are several other publicly operated, private, and passenger-only ferries in Washington state.

See also

• Alaska Marine Highway
• BC Ferries
• Black Ball Line
• Ferries in Washington State
• Inter-Island Ferry Authority
• Keller Ferry
• King County Water Taxi
• Seattle tugboats

External links

• Official website
• Evergreenfleet.com – A History of Washington State Ferries Past and Present
• Vehicle Reservation Predesign Study