Ferries in Washington State

Washington is home to a number of public and private ferry systems, most notably the state-run Washington State Ferries.

History

Main article: Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet

Due to Washington's unique topography, featuring large, deep bodies of water with many peninsulas and islands, ferries are a natural means of connecting communities in the region.

Washington State Ferries

Washington State Ferries, owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation, serves communities on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. It is the largest fleet of passenger and automobile ferries in the United States and the third largest in the world.

Other ferries in Washington

Publicly operated

• The Guemes Island Ferry from Anacortes 5 minutes north to Guemes Island is operated by Skagit County, Washington.
• Wahkiakum County operates the Wahkiakum County Ferry between Puget Island, Washington and Westport, Oregon on the lower Columbia River.
• The Colville Confederated Tribes operates the M/V Columbia Princess a.k.a. the Gifford-Inchelium Ferry on the upper Columbia River.
• Pierce County operates two ferries from Steilacoom to Anderson Island and Ketron Island: the Christine Anderson and the Steilacoom II.
• The Washington State Department of Corrections also operates a ferry from the same dock to the McNeil Island Corrections Center.
• The Lummi Island Ferry, also knowns at the M/V Whatcom Chief, from Gooseberry Point to Lummi Island is operated by Whatcom County.
• Kitsap Transit operates a passenger-only ferry between Port Orchard and Bremerton.
• The Martha S., also known as the Keller Ferry, is operated by WSDOT separately from the Washington State Ferry System on Puget Sound and crosses Lake Roosevelt on the Columbia River in north-east Washington.
• The Hat Island Ferry operates daily between the Everett Marina and Gedney (Hat) Island Marina.

Private

Many private ferries exist to serve residents of islands throughout Puget Sound and beyond into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. For example:

• High-speed catamarans, geared to tourists, run to Victoria, British Columbia operated by Victoria Clipper (from Seattle) and by Victoria Express from Port Angeles.
• Black Ball Transport operates the M/V Coho auto/passenger ferry between Port Angeles and Victoria.
• The M/V El Matador crosses the channel of Grays Harbor, from Ocean Shores to Westport during summer months.
• The M/V Charlie Wells crosses Case Inlet from the Key Peninsula (south of Vaughn, WA) to Herron Island, a privately owned and operated island.

Passenger-only

• From 2004 to April 2007, a private company, the Kitsap Ferry Co., provided passenger-only ferry service between Bremerton and Seattle, during weekday commute times. The service was canceled due to high costs and lack of support from Kitsap Transit, whose district voters failed to pass a sales tax increase for the foot ferry.

• The most recent run, between Kingston and Seattle, called Aqua Express, shut down after two years of unprofitable service. West Seattle to the Seattle central business district and Bremerton to Seattle have been other passenger-only routes attempted by private enterprise.

• The new King County Ferry District operates two passenger-only ferry services known as the King County Water Taxi with service from Downtown Seattle to Vashon Island and West Seattle.

• The small Jetty Island Ferry runs the short distance between the Everett Marina and the man made, unpopulated Jetty Island in the summer months for tourists.

• The Lady of the Lake ferry runs year-round from Chelan, Washington to Stehekin, Washington on Lake Chelan.

• "El Matador" is a foot ferry between Ocean Shores, Washington and Westport, Washington with limited service between spring and summer .

External links

• WSDOT managed list of ferry services operating in State of Washington waterways