Major Project overview
Washington State Ferries burns more than 18 million gallons of diesel fuel a year, making the system Washington state’s largest consumer. Within the state transportation system, ferries generate the most carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. We are working on several projects to meet the goals of Executive Order 20-01, which directs WSF to move toward a zero emissions fleet.
Timeline overview
Major project status
Funding
Major project alerts
New vessels
We have introduced four new vessels into the fleet since 2014. All are 144-car Olympic-class ferries. However, the new vessel construction program has not kept up with the needs of our aging fleet. Over half of our fleet, 11 of 21 vessels, are more than 30 years old. These ferries are approaching the end of their service lives and must be replaced with newer ones in the coming years. We will begin construction of our first hybrid-electric Olympic-class ferry in early 2022 and it’s expected to enter service in 2025. We must keep building additional hybrid-electric ferries to maintain reliable service. These greener ferries have the added benefit of reducing nitric oxide emissions by 146 metric tons/year and carbon dioxide emissions by 16,340 metric tons/year, reducing operating costs, virtually eliminating engine noise and vibration, and reducing maintenance costs.
