WA ferries ups service for World Cup in Seattle
Washington State Ferries won't be the most direct way most people take to one of the six matches for this summer's FIFA World Cup. Leave that to the trains and buses.
But the state agency - which is also commemorating its 75th anniversary this year - also doesn't want to be the reason people are late to a game.
To help ensure punctual passage across Puget Sound, the state will have 20 of its 21 vessels ready to go during the full six weeks of the tournament, giving the agency a two-ferry cushion and the ability to deploy relief vessels quickly if trouble arises and a boat is unexpectedly taken out of service.
Extra crews will be on standby at the Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility on Bainbridge Island, in hopes of a swift turnaround if a boat is taken in for repairs and a standby boat has to enter service quickly. More staff will also be on hand at terminals across the system, to help assist passengers and manage crowds.
Overall, the agency is focused on keeping boats in service and on time during the matches. Especially for its busiest sailings serving the central Puget Sound, the three routes connecting Seattle to Bainbridge, Bremerton and Kingston, where the state expects ridership to be boosted by World Cup crowds.
We're heading into a very busy summer. We expect a big increase in travel across our system" during the World Cup, said Forrest Nichols, WSF's director of vessel engineering and maintenance, during a recent community meeting discussing the state of the ferry system. "This (plan) should help reduce cancellations and service gaps with unexpected events."
The state isn't alone in moving soccer fans across the water.
Kitsap Transit Fast Ferries will run later than usual on its Bremerton-Seattle route. That sailing will go until midnight on match days.
Bremerton is one of nine designated fan zones that will be broadcasting the 2026 matches, giving fans the chance to watch a Seattle match together without going to the game itself. The downtown Bremerton fan zone will be in Quincy Square, between Pacific Avenue and Washington Avenue on Fourth Street.
The King County Metro Water Taxi isn't adding additional service, but will sail to West Seattle through 11 p.m. on match days.
Even with the assistance of passenger ferries, the state's working with a thin margin of boats, considering 18 are needed to run its summer sailing schedule.
More crew, awaiting more boats
WSF has been tested to keep its boats on the water and running on time, as it works to rebuild its aging, depleted fleet and build up its staff during a global shortage of mariners.
Earlier this year, the agency had four boats out on planned maintenance when three more went down due to unexpected mechanical issues. The state got the boats back in service within days, but it highlighted the system's vulnerability.
Steve Nevey, who has helmed WSF since 2024, said the work to restore the fleet's service and reputation has started to turn things around since the dire days of 2021. Crew shortages led to hundreds of cancellations that year, including one October day when about 140 sailings were canceled and the system was forced to reduce service on seven of its 10 routes.
A hiring frenzy under Nevey has helped alleviate the crew situation, though there are still canceled sailings due to people calling out sick.
"But those cancellations are way down," Nevey said at the community meeting, adding that a crew-canceled boat was once out for the whole day, but now they're typically out for a sailing or two.
In 2022, the agency's deck department had 656 employees, and now it has 817. The engine department had 370, and now has 462.
The agency has also reduced its risk of losing its most senior staff to retirement. In 2022, 53% of captains were eligible to retire, or would be within five years. That proportion is now 40%. At the same time, 34% of chief engineers were at risk of retiring, and now 23% are. The agency has a goal of 20% for both roles.
"This progress hasn't happened by accident," Nevey said, noting his push to hire, train and promote employees.
A more difficult problem is the number of boats in the state fleet.
As has been the case for years, the ultimate goal is to completely electrify and modernize the fleet by 2040, a cornerstone of former Gov. Jay Inslee's environmental legacy.
Gov. Bob Ferguson has put his own stamp on the system, including with his decision to award a state contract to Eastern Shipbuilding Group of Panama City, Fla., for three hybrid-electric ferries at a cost of $714.5 million. Ferguson also shelved the project to convert more of the agency's largest boats to electric power, following the conversion of the Wenatchee, which was costlier and more time-consuming than originally estimated.
Still, though Ferguson has said he's "staying the course with electrification - a $6.2 billion endeavor that includes building 16 new hybrid-electric vessels and adding charging stations to 16 terminals - the first new boat won't be delivered until 2030, at the earliest.
Ferguson also said that decision about the delay in converting more boats would wait until after this summer and its World Cup crowds, but is now indefinitely on ice, and is not included in the state's six-year spending plans.
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