Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc. (ESG) and Washington State Ferries (WSF) marked the start of construction on three new 160-vehicle hybrid-electric ferries at a steel cutting ceremony in Florida. This first vessel, Wishkah, is scheduled to be delivered by 2030.
David Sowers, program administrator for system electrification at Washington State Ferries, headlined the event and announced that Washington state is accepting the option in the contract for a third boat. According to the governor’s office, the total cost of the three vessels will be $1.15 billion, below the $1.3 billion appropriated by the legislature. The three ferries will be delivered in three consecutive years and will be begin with serve WSF’s Mukilteo/Clinton and Seattle/Bremerton routes.
Designed by Elliott Bay Design Group, Wishkah is the first new vessel built by WSF in a decade and the first of up to 16 new vessels that are part of WSF’s $6 billion Ferry System Electrification Program. Once the WSF terminals are ready with charging power, the new vessels are expected to cut emissions by 90 percent compared to the fleet’s older vessels.
The new hybrid-electric ferries will replace some of the oldest in the WSF fleet, some of which are more than 50 years old, and will help the operator reach their goal of 26 ferries by 2040.
The 409ʹ 6ʺ steel ferries will be certified to transport 160 standard-sized passenger vehicles and 1500 passengers. With a draft of 16ʹ 6ʺ, the ferries will achieve a speed of 17 knots at full load and are designed to interface with all existing WSF dock facilities.
WSF selected Siemens Energy as the systems integrator contract for the long-term electrification and decarbonization strategy. ABB will supply and integrate hybrid-electric propulsion systems and selected Corvus Energy to supply battery energy storage systems for the new ferries.