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 the largest fleet of ferries in the United States at 21 vessels. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 17,375,400, or about 50,600 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2023. As of 2016, it was the largest ferry operator in the United States and the second-largest vehicular ferry system in the world.
MV Puyallup is a Jumbo Mark-II-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries. This ferry and her two sisters are the largest in the fleet. Puyallup is normally assigned to the Edmonds–Kingston route, although she is often reassigned to the Seattle–Bainbridge Island route whenever either of her sisters assigned to that route are out of service.
The MV Tacoma is a Jumbo Mark-II-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries. Launched in 1997, it was the first in its class in the Washington State Ferries fleet. Since delivery, the Tacoma has almost exclusively been assigned to the busy Seattle–Bainbridge Island route.
The MV Wenatchee is a Jumbo Mark-II-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries. Launched in 1998, she was the second in her class in the fleet following the MV Tacoma. Since delivery, the Wenatchee has almost exclusively been assigned to the busy Seattle–Bainbridge Island route alongside the Tacoma.
The MV Spokane is a Jumbo-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries. She was built in 1972 by the Todd Shipyards in Seattle, Washington, for the Seattle–Bainbridge route. The ship remained assigned there until the construction of the Jumbo Mark-II class in the late 1990s displaced her to the Edmonds–Kingston route, where she has remained since.
MV Elwha was a Super-class ferry in the Washington State Ferry System. The 382-foot (116 m) vessel entered service in June 1968, and spent most of her career working the Anacortes-San Juan Islands-Sidney B.C. route.
The MV Cathlamet is an Issaquah-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.
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).
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 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 Jumbo class are two ferries that were built by Washington State Ferries in 1972 to supersede the Super class. They have a capacity of 2,000 passengers and 188 vehicles.
The U.S. state of Washington is home to a number of public and private ferry systems, most notably the state-run Washington State Ferries.
Kwa-di Tabil-class ferries, were built for Washington State Ferries to replace the retired Steel Electric-class ferries. The vessels serve lower traffic routes and carry up to 64 vehicles. The State of Washington spent approximately $213 million to construct the three ferries in this class.
State Route 305 (SR 305) is a 13.50-mile-long (21.73 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, primarily serving Bainbridge Island in Kitsap County and connecting it to Seattle in King County via the Seattle–Bainbridge Island ferry. The highway travels north through Bainbridge Island and leaves the island on the Agate Pass Bridge into the Kitsap Peninsula. SR 305 continues northwest through Poulsbo, intersecting SR 307 and ending at the SR 3 freeway. The highway was created during the 1964 highway renumbering and was preceded by Secondary State Highway 21A (SSH 21A), established in 1937. The ferry, part of the highway since 1994, is served by the Jumbo Mark-II-classMV Tacoma and MV Wenatchee and operates on a 35-minute crossing time.
The Edmonds–Kingston ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound between Edmonds and Kingston, Washington. Since 1951 the only ferries employed on the route have belonged to the Washington state ferry system, currently the largest ferry system in the United States. The last regularly operated steam ferry on the West Coast of the United States made its final run on this route in 1969.
The Seattle–Bremerton ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound between Seattle and Bremerton, Washington. Since 1951, the route has primarily been operated by the state-run Washington State Ferries system, currently the largest ferry system in the United States. Kitsap Transit also runs passenger-only "fast ferries" service on the route.
The Seattle–Bainbridge ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound between Seattle and Bainbridge Island, Washington. The route was called the Seattle–Winslow ferry before the city of Winslow annexed the rest of the island and changed its name. Since 1951 the only ferries employed on the route have belonged to the Washington state ferry system, currently the largest ferry system in the United States.
The MV Samish is the second vessel of the Olympic-class auto ferries built by Vigor Industrial for the Washington State Ferries system. The vessel started service with her maiden voyage to Friday Harbor as the #3 Boat in the San Juans on June 14, 2015.
Kitsap Fast Ferries is a passenger ferry service operating between Seattle and Kitsap County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is funded and operated by Kitsap Transit and began service in July 2017, with a single boat traveling between Seattle and Bremerton. A second route, from Seattle to Kingston, launched in November 2018, and a third route serving Seattle and Southworth began operating in March 2021. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 791,000, or about 38,600 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2023.
