HomeMy WebLinkAbout070725 - WSF Monday Matters (July 7 2025)ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
WSF Monday Matters
Thank you for the incredible commitment to service this weekend by our employees. Whether at a terminal, in an engine room, on a deck watch, a dispatcher, a Watch Center supervisor,
on call for Eagle Harbor, or an information/web agent, our employees made a difference to the hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians and visitors traveling on a WSF vessel this holiday
weekend.
More than 400,000 people, 406,104 to be exact, used WSF as a mode of travel between Wednesday, July 2nd and Sunday, July 6th. That is 50,000 more people traveling on our ferries than
during the Memorial Day holiday earlier this year. WSF carried more than 377,000 people between Wednesday, July 3rd and Sunday, July 7th, 2024.
Completed Sailings
For the week of June 30 – July 6 – we completed 98.97% of our 3,099 scheduled sailings. Of the 32 cancellations, 53% (17) were due to schedule resets (when a boat is so far behind schedule,
we cancel a sailing to get it back on schedule, providing predictability for customers), 41% (13) were due to crewing, and 6% (2) were due to security-related issues.
There were no cancellations due to vessel-related issues.
Customer Service Alerts
For the week of June 30 - July 6 – our customer service team sent 222 rider alerts, received 4,877 customer calls, and fielded more than 270 written comments and emails related to reservations,
schedules, and fares.
WSF Weekly Media Highlights
Busy travel weekend: AAA says Seattle #2 destination for Fourth of July holiday KOMO <https://komonews.com/news/local/nearly-900000-travelers-expected-at-sea-airport-over-fourth-of-july-weekend>
Kitsap Transit Considers Alternatives for a New Seattle Fast Ferry Terminal The Urbanist <https://www.theurbanist.org/2025/07/04/kitsap-transit-new-seattle-fast-ferry-terminal/>
Three new hybrid-electric ferries are coming to Washington for more than $1B Washington Center Square <https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_9b58df8b-0449-4b23-9ed0-d9fa7d305048.html>
Vessel Availability
We have now fully implemented our 18-vessel service this summer, allowing us to return to almost full domestic service – three years earlier than originally planned:
* The Seattle/Bremerton route returned to its two-boat schedule on June 15.
* The Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth “Triangle” route will resume three-boat schedule daily Monday, June 30.
* A second vessel was added to Port Townsend/Coupeville run July 4 and is scheduled to remain through the end of the route’s shoulder season on Oct. 13.
The reality of adding service: We’ll need to crew three more daily boats for this added service. While we've done a lot of hiring and career development in recent years, we will have
fewer available relief crew members. This could mean more cancellations due to a shortage of crew.
Hybrid Conversions/New Vessels/Terminal Electrification
Hybrid Conversions – We have taken possession of the Wenatchee and moved the ferry from Vigor’s shipyard in Seattle to Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island. Work continues to ready the
vessel for service, train the crew, and obtain U.S. Coast Guard re-certification.
New Vessels – Governor Bob Ferguson announced he has selected the $714.5 million bid from Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group to build three new 160-vehicle hybrid-electric ferries.
We will move forward with the contracting process, following the first competitive bid for ferry construction in more than 25 years.
Terminal Electrification – Vessel charging system proposals have been reviewed and an award announcement is expected soon. The Bainbridge Island Terminal Electrification Project and
Seattle Terminal Electrification Project will conduct in-water exploration in June. Results will inform project designs.