New Puget Sound ferries in service by 2010
Ferry Online Travel News 31/07/2008
It now looks more likely that by the year 2010 two new ferries will be operating on major Puget Sound routes, according
Officials for the state ferry system will begin to advertise in September for bids on the two new car ferries that will operate on the Port Townsend-Keystone route. This represents a slight delay in schedule, but is expected to still be in time for the first vessel to be ready for operations by the spring of 2010, according to comments by a spokesperson for the ferry system earlier this week.
By the fall of next year, it is anticipated that a new design will be ready for consideration for a new, larger car ferry that is being proposed to replace two other vessel in the state system’s aging fleet.
The replacements for the 64-car ferries, will take over from the 1927 vintage vessels that were permanently docked late last year. The design will be altered somewhat, eliminating moveable lift decks, due to cost considerations and the time required in operating the lift decks.
Other changes will be incorporated, such as adding a pickle fork to the bow of the new vessels that will feature an open center to improve passenger views. The size of the generators and the heating and cooling system will be reduced, and steel propeller shafts will replace the carbon fiber type used on similar ferries in service on the east coast of the U.S.
← Fares on BC Ferries increase again | Index | EU subsidy could keep Rosyth ferry afloat →