My plan as head of Washington State Ferries

As I settle into the role of directing the nation’s largest ferry system, my commitment is to ensure Washington State Ferries restores service to the levels our customers expect and enact long-term solutions that make us reliable for decades to come.

WSF’s greatest challenges are the need for new vessels and licensed maritime workers. Since 2021, legislators adopted policies and funding that empower our agency to be more responsive in a nationally competitive market for shipbuilders and mariners.

In the past couple of years, we’ve hired nearly 600 fleet personnel despite an international maritime worker shortage. We’ve cleared roadblocks to allow existing deck crews to be paid during training to get the licensing needed to become mates and captains. We offer 12 annual scholarships to anyone interested in becoming a licensed deck officer, no maritime experience required. Like any investment, it takes time to see returns. There’s no fast-forward button for crew to accumulate the hours they need to advance and meet Coast Guard accreditation. While there’s no quick fix, these programs ensure resilience for years to come.

In 2023, Gov. Jay Inslee and the Legislature provided a new approach to address our vessel shortage — one that shortens the next five vessels’ delivery date by three to five years. For the first time in five decades, we’re allowed to issue a national request for bids for shipbuilders with an option to sign two contracts to build vessels simultaneously. We’re seeing interest from shipbuilders across the nation to build these desperately needed vessels and plan to have contracts in place this fall to begin delivering new boats by 2028.

As importantly, our new boats will be clean, quiet, energy-efficient hybrid-electric models. Those who think that building diesel boats would be faster are simply wrong. Changing course now would require restarting a new design, legislative authority and bid process. Even if we started that process today, the soonest a new diesel boat would be in the water would be 2030.

Our hybrid-electric plans, however, are ready to go now. With most of the funding secured and the bid process starting shortly, it’s time to proceed. This proven technology is widely deployed in Europe and will significantly reduce money spent on diesel, decrease fuel consumption by 76%, reduce maintenance and leverage stable energy prices. This work attracts and retains skilled workers wanting to maintain, repair and operate this new technology and fleet of the future. WSF’s diesel vessels are one of the state’s largest emitters of climate pollution, burning nearly 19 million gallons of diesel fuel for an estimated 180,000 metric tons of emissions annually.

We know that waiting for our new ferries impacts communities who depend on them. WSF continually explores innovations to improve service. We searched globally for boats to supplement our fleet — unfortunately, none were the right fit. So, the state invested in additional passenger-only ferry service options, like the Bremerton Fast Ferry service, additional Vashon water taxi service and potential San Juan Islands options. Being integrated with WSDOT’s multimodal transportation system, the ferries system is also positioned to provide a “door to door” experience as opposed to just “shore to shore” for our customers.

WSF values feedback from staff and the public and is resolute in acting on it to achieve the stability everyone wants and deserves. It’s our north star in every action we take and guides our investments to realize those benefits over time. I’m building upon my predecessors’ work, strengthened by WSDOT’s sound leadership and supported by Gov. Inslee and the Legislature’s funding to bolster our workforce, rebuild our fleet and upgrade our infrastructure to ensure system stability for years to come.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misstated the estimated amount of carbon emissions from diesel vessels.