A ferry is a watercraft that carries passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water taxi or water bus.
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals located around Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands, designated as part of the state highway system. The agency maintains a fleet of 21 vessels that are able to carry passengers and vehicles.
State Route 525 (SR 525) is a 30.68-mile-long (49.37 km) state highway located in Snohomish and Island counties in the western region of the U.S. state of Washington. SR 525 begins at an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) and I-405 in Lynnwood and travels north to SR 99 as a four-lane controlled-access freeway. From Lynnwood, the highway serves Mukilteo and becomes the terminus of SR 526 before taking its ferry route to Clinton on Whidbey Island. SR 525 traverses the island's interior as part of the Whidbey Island Scenic Byway before the designation ends at an intersection with SR 20 south of Coupeville.
The MV Walla Walla is a Jumbo-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.
The MV Cathlamet is an Issaquah-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.
The MV Sealth is a Issaquah-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries. She is named for Chief Sealth. The Sealth underwent cabin rebuilding in last 2006, after which she was in service on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route. The Sealth was then the #2 vessel on the route. Earlier she was taken out of service due to a seam needing weld repairs.
The MV Hiyu was a ferry boat operated by Washington State Ferries. Originally built in 1967 to replace an earlier ferry, it was used on the Point Defiance–Tahlequah route during its early years. Upon its retirement in 2016, it was the smallest ferry in the fleet, with a capacity of 34 cars and 200 passengers, and a length of 162 feet (49 m).
The MV Chelan is an Issaquah-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries, completed and in service in 1981. In 2004, the vessel was refit with a second vehicle deck, and in 2005 was refit with safety equipment to meet the requirements of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), allowing the Chelan to make international trips on the Anacortes–San Juan Islands–Sidney, British Columbia route. As of April 2020 the Chelan is the only vessel in the Washington State Ferries fleet that meets SOLAS standards.
MV Kitsap is an Issaquah-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries. The Kitsap was built in 1980 as an Issaquah class and upgraded in 1992 moving it to the Issaquah 130 class due to adding an upper car deck. The vessel also received interior upgrades. The vessel used to have a rainbow color of blue, but has since been renovated with interior colors light, and dark blue, and dark green.
The MV Kittitas is an Issaquah-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.
The MV Tillikum is the sole remaining Evergreen State-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries (WSF) and the oldest ferry operating in the WSF system.
The MV Hyak is a Super-class ferry that was operated by Washington State Ferries. Built in 1966 at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company shipyard in San Diego, the ferry began service on July 20, 1967, and normally ran on the Seattle–Bremerton route or the Anacortes–San Juan Islands run.
The MV Kaleetan is a Super-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.
The MV Yakima is a Super-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries. The Yakima was built in 1967 for the Seattle–Bremerton run and remained there until the early 1980s when she was moved to the Edmonds–Kingston run where she was a better match for ridership levels.
The Olympic-class ferries are the newest vessels to the Washington State Ferries fleet. They are intended to allow the agency to retire the aging Evergreen State-class ferries currently in service. The ferry design is based on the Issaquah-class ferries which have proven to be the most reliable and versatile in the fleet. The Olympic-class ferries are designed to serve all routes and terminals in the Washington State Ferries system. All vessels were built in Washington as required by state law since July 2001.
The Guemes Island ferry, the M/V Guemes, carries passengers and vehicles across Guemes Channel between Anacortes, Washington and Guemes Island. The ferry is operated by the Skagit County Public Works Department's Ferry Division.
The MV Tokitae is an Olympic-class passenger ferry operated by Washington State Ferries which entered service on June 30, 2014. It serves the Mukilteo-Clinton route.
The MV Chimacum is the third vessel of the Olympic-class auto ferries for the Washington State Ferries system. The ship was built by Vigor Industrial at their shipyard in Seattle, Washington and entered service on the Seattle–Bremerton route in 2017.
MV Suquamish is an Olympic-class ferry that is operated by Washington State Ferries and the inaugural sailing was at 12:30pm on October 4, 2018. The vessel carries 144 cars and 1,500 passengers.
The Anacortes–San Juan Islands ferry is a system of ferry route operated by Washington State Ferries. The routes serve Anacortes, Lopez Island, Shaw Island, Orcas Island, San Juan Island, and Sidney on Vancouver Island in Canada. The ferry routes are part of State Route 20 Spur.
