Bids to build new plug-in Washington state ferries come in high
Ferry system managers and state budget writers in Washington took a cold wave over the bow Monday upon opening the bids to construct up to five new hybrid electric ferries.
'I don't see how you get to five. There's money for three on a good day,' said state House Transportation Committee Chair Jake Fey, D-Tacoma.
The Washington Legislature previously set aside about $1.3 billion to build new ferries and charging infrastructure over the next six to eight years. New vessels are overdue to stabilize the state's aging and sometimes unreliable ferry fleet. Simultaneously, the ferry system and the state's Democratic leadership want to reduce the ferries' air pollution footprint by switching to battery propulsion as much as possible.
Eastern Shipbuilding Group of Panama City, Florida, submitted the low bid for the state's desired plug-in hybrid, 160-car vessels, according to a summary of the bids posted by WSF late on Monday. The $251 million price tag for the first ferry in the series was roughly in line with the state engineer's in-house estimate.
Nichols Brothers Boat Builders on Whidbey Island submitted a competing bid that was considerably higher, even after including a 13% bid credit authorized by the Legislature to incentivize home state construction. Neither bid includes the expensive hybrid electric powertrains for the new ferries, which the state plans to acquire separately.
A third shipbuilder, Philly Shipyard, was expected to submit a bid, but didn't in the end.
The Nichols Brothers and Eastern Shipbuilding Group bids both include escalator clauses that Fey predicted 'will invariably make it (the price) go up.' The escalators allow the shipyards to charge more in case of unpredictable cost increases, such as on steel or from tariffs.
Washington State Ferries said in a mass email to interested parties that it will evaluate the bid documents in greater detail for the next few weeks before awarding a contract. The agency will undoubtedly also consult further with the governor's office and key legislators about what is affordable.
The most recent date given for delivery of the first new ferry was 2029.
'First things first, I need to understand exactly what we've got with the bids,' Gov. Bob Ferguson said Monday after an initial, high-level briefing. Ferguson declined to speculate more before getting additional information.
Fey said he expects to discuss where more money could potentially be found. The veteran legislator said multiple currents in the bid environment drove up costs, including rising raw material prices, tariffs and limited shipyard competition – even though the ferry system's request for bids was opened to shipyards nationwide.
A Democratic legislator from ferry-served Bainbridge Island, Rep. Greg Nance, said he was struck by how Washington's procurement was affected by the hollowing out of the nation's shipbuilding industry. He was pleased there was more than one bidder.
'Given the state of shipbuilding writ large, we knew that we were swimming upstream,' Nance said in an interview Monday. 'We need to do more to support shipbuilding. We've lost our shipbuilding edge over the past 50 years.'
The 144-car Suquamish was the most recent of the workhorse Olympic-class ferries upon which the new plug-in ferry design is based. The diesel-powered Suquamish was delivered to WSF in 2018 at a cost of about $122 million. Debate about how to proceed with further vessel acquisitions in that size class has stretched from then until now.
During this dickering, the state pivoted to electrification, costs shot up and the reliability of the existing aging fleet went down.
The bid request published by WSF included the high-level design for a plug-in ferry capable of carrying up to 160 cars and 1,500 passengers. Drawings show boats that resemble a slightly elongated version of the diesel-powered Olympic class ferries delivered between 2014 and 2018. However, the new design has just one passenger deck stacked on top of the two auto decks.
The center of the ship's hold will be packed with racks of water-cooled rechargeable batteries so the ferry can sail fully on electric power most of the time. The engine room will also feature twin diesel generators as a backup source of propulsion power.
Assuming they use green electricity to charge, the new ferries should achieve a large reduction in fuel consumption and an associated reduction in global warming emissions.
WSF tentatively plans to deploy the new ferries to the Mukilteo-Clinton run first, probably followed by the Seattle-Bremerton route.
Republicans, who are in the minority in the Legislature, have pushed for a cheaper diesel ferry option to be put back on the table. WSF leaders have been consistent in warning against reverting to conventional diesel power because that would necessitate a lengthy redesign and re-bid.
'If we were to switch now to go to diesel, we would have to stop what we're doing with the hybrid, design a new diesel boat and lose the funding from the Climate Commitment Act,' deputy WSF boss John Vezina said under questioning from state Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Pierce County, at a Senate hearing in March. 'It would probably add two years to the acquisition of those new vessels.'
BC Ferries has also been in the market for new car ferries and has been able to acquire new vessels at far lower cost than its Seattle-based neighbors. Unlike Washington State Ferries, BC Ferries can solicit bids from shipyards worldwide. The newest additions to the province's fleet were built in Romania.
Building ferries to serve domestic U.S. routes at a foreign shipyard is prohibited under a century-old federal law known as the Jones Act.
Of late, the Trump administration and a bipartisan contingent of lawmakers in Congress have highlighted the need to make the American shipbuilding industry more competitive. But President Donald Trump's recent statements on the matter make no mention of jettisoning the longstanding made-in-America requirements.
Washington State Ferries currently has 21 vessels of various sizes and ages in its fleet, making it the largest public ferry system in the nation. The WSF long-range plan contains a goal to grow to 26 ferries to provide reliable service on every route, with allowances for maintenance tie-ups and a vessel in reserve.
The hefty bids come just as it seemed the agency was sailing into smoother waters.
This summer, the ferry system will get nearly back to operating its full pre-pandemic schedule, missing only a second boat on the Port Townsend-Coupeville run during midweeks and the long-suspended international crossing to Sidney, B.C.
Last week's generally celebratory blog post about the summer schedule cautioned that peak-season crewing will be stretched close to the limit. Blog author Bryn Hunter said it will be challenging to find a short-term replacement whenever an aging vessel breaks down.
'I wouldn't let this be a Debbie Downer,' Rep. Fey concluded at the end of his initial construction bid analysis. 'There's been great progress made by the ferry system over the past four years.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
an hour ago
Father of 3 Marines who was forcibly detained by immigration agents at landscaping job speaks out
An undocumented father of three Marines who was forcibly detained by federal immigration agents while at his landscaping job in California last month spoke out for the first time on Friday in emotional, tearful remarks. Customs and Border Patrol agents arrested Narciso Barranco in Santa Ana on June 21, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Video of him being forcibly detained showed masked agents holding him down on the street and repeatedly punching him after he ran from agents. He is currently out on bond after being released from federal custody on July 15 and has an immigration status hearing in August, according to Orange City Council officials. During a press conference in Santa Ana surrounded by local officials and leaders, Barranco thanked the community and his family for their support. "I love you all and I am very proud of you," he said to his children in Spanish. To his wife, Marta, he said, "Thank you for your strength, love, and for never stopping believing in me." Barranco also spoke to the families of other detainees he met while in custody. "I want to tell their families they have faith, they miss you all, and even in that place, they have hope," he said. Barranco asked of federal authorities, "Please, don't take away the opportunities for them to reunite with their families." Lisa Ramirez, a founding partner of US Immigration Law Group and Barranco's legal representative, said his story is not an isolated case. "What I think we can all learn from this one story is that there are hundreds and soon to be millions of people like Mr. Barranco who have been long-standing contributors to our country, who will also be arbitrarily arrested and detained," she said. The Department of Homeland Security said following the arrest that Narciso Barranco is in the country illegally and that he tried to evade law enforcement, "swung a weed whacker directly at an agent's face" and resisted commands. "The agents took appropriate action and followed their training to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve the situation in a manner that prioritizes the safety of the public and our officers," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement at the time. One of Barranco's sons, Marine veteran Alejandro Barranco, told Congress members this week that his father got scared after the masked agents approached him while he was at work. "As he worked, he noticed masked men approaching him, and was quickly surrounded by men who did not identify themselves and never presented any type of warrant," he told Democratic members of the House Committee on Homeland Security during an oversight forum examining the Trump administration's detention and deportation practices on Tuesday. "Terrified, he ran. They chased him through the parking lot and into a crowded street. They pointed guns at him, pepper-sprayed him. They tackled him to the ground and kicked him." He said his father, who has two other sons who are currently serving as Marines, has no criminal record and "should have never been attacked by these agents." "He supported his family and paid taxes," the veteran said. "He is a human being, but he was not treated with the basic dignity he deserved."
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Judge dismisses Justice Department lawsuit over sanctuary laws in Chicago and Illinois
WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department that accused the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago of unlawfully interfering with President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins in Chicago was a setback for Trump's litigation campaign against local "sanctuary" laws that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. White House and Justice Department spokespersons did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump, a Republican seeking to deport millions of immigrants in the country illegally, has sparred with Chicago and other Democratic strongholds over their policies. Democrats, in turn, have criticized the Trump administration's aggressive enforcement tactics, including plainclothes immigration agents covering their faces to hide their identities and arrests of immigrants with no criminal records. Supporters of sanctuary laws have said local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement would discourage immigrants who are living in the country illegally from coming forward as victims or witnesses to crimes. The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance in 2012 that stops city agencies and employees from getting involved in civil immigration enforcement or helping federal authorities with such efforts. The Illinois legislature passed a similar state law, known as the TRUST Act, in 2017. The Justice Department sued Chicago and Illinois in February, alleging these laws violate the U.S. Constitution's "Supremacy Clause" that states that federal law preempts state and local laws that may conflict with it. Jenkins, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, rejected that argument in Friday's ruling, saying the city's and the state's policies are protected by the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which ensures that states retain significant powers not explicitly granted to the federal government. The Trump administration on Thursday filed a similar lawsuit against New York City over its local sanctuary laws. A similar case against Los Angeles is pending.
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Texas Democrats meet with Newsom to stop Trump's push to ‘rig' the 2026 election
Gov. Gavin Newsom stood alongside six Democrats from the Texas Legislature on Friday and joined them in accusing President Trump and Republicans of trying to 'rig' elections to hold onto congressional seats next year. 'They play by a different set of rules and we could sit back and act as if we have some moral authority and watch this 249-, 250-year-old experiment be washed away,' Newsom said of the nation's history. 'We are not going to allow that to happen.' The Texas lawmakers and the governor spoke with reporters after meeting privately at the Governor's Mansion in Sacramento to discuss a national political fight over electoral maps that could alter the outcome of the midterm elections and balance of power in Congress. At the urging of President Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called his state Legislature into a special session this week that includes a call to redistrict the Lone Star State to help Republicans pick up seats in Congress. The move is part of a gerrymandering effort pushed by Trump to prevent the GOP from losing control of the House of Representatives next year. If Democrats take the House, they could derail the president's agenda, which has so far included a crackdown on undocumented immigrants, tariffs on imports, rescinding efforts to combat climate change and undercutting state protections for the LGTBQ+ community, among other policy priorities. Newsom has threatened to mirror Trump's tactics and said he's in talks with leaders of the California Legislature to redraw the state's congressional districts to favor electing more Democrats and fewer Republicans. Texas Democrats, who said they traveled to California to meet with the governor and explain the state of play in Texas, pledged do everything in their power to push back against Trump's plan. 'We're going to use every tool at our disposal in the state of Texas to confront this very illegal redistricting process that is going to be done on the backs of historic African American and Latino districts,' said Texas state Rep. Rafael Anchía. Another group of Texas lawmakers are expected to meet with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker in Chicago. Changing the maps to benefit Democrats is a massive departure from California's work over the last decade to remove political partisanship from the redistricting process. California voters in 2010 gave an independent Citizens Redistricting Commission the power to determine the boundaries of voting districts for the U.S. House of Representatives instead of leaving that authority with the state Legislature. To redistrict before the midterms, the most legally sound option is for state lawmakers to send a constitutional amendment to voters that seeks to allow changes to the voter map outside the boundaries of California's independent redistricting process. The vote would need to happen in a special election before the June primary. Newsom has said he's also exploring a potential legal loophole that could allow the California Legislature to redraw the congressional maps themselves with a two-thirds vote. The governor's office said state law charges the redistricting commission with crafting new maps after a census, which is conducted about every 10 years. But they say the law is silent on everything that happens in between that time period. Newsom's lawyers believe it could be possible for the Legislature to redistrict congressional seats mid-decade on its own without going to the ballot. The governor's call to fight Trump using his own gerrymandering tactics has drawn a mixed response. Newsom argues that Democrats will continue to lose if they remain the only party that plays by the rules. But others worry about the integrity of electoral outcomes across the nation if political parties in every state resort to naked political gamesmanship to gain control. Texas Republicans have long been accused of crafting political maps to dilute the power of Black and Latino voters, which led to an ongoing lawsuit from 2021. Newsom's effort in California would effectively seek to increase the share of Democrats in Republican-held districts. Redistricting experts in California say redrawing the maps in the Golden State could create the potential for Democrats to flip at least five of the seats held by GOP incumbents. Democrats may have the potential for greater gains from gerrymandering, particularly in places such as California that have attempted to practice nonpartisan redistricting, compared to states such as Texas, where maps are already drawn in favor of Republicans. 'It should be no surprise to anybody who covers Texas that every decade since 1970 Texas has been found to discriminate against people of color in its redistricting process,' Anchía said. 'In trying to do this, it is going to create great harm, not only to the people we represent, to the voters of the state of Texas, but also potentially to all Americans,' he said about Trump's plan. It's common for the party in control of the White House to lose seats nationally in the first election after a presidential contest. Republicans hold majorities in the Senate and the House, and losing power to Democrats could be detrimental to Trump's presidency. Trump's job approval rating dropped to a second-term low of 37% in a Gallup poll conducted earlier this month. The dip is just above his lowest approval rating ever of 34% at the end of his first term. Trump has said publicly that he thinks it's possible for Republicans to redistrict and pick up five seats in Texas, with the potential for gains in other states that redraw their maps.
