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Washington’s first battery ferry ready to enter service in July
Kitsap Sun ^
| 7/11/2025
| Tom Banse
Posted on 07/11/2025 6:21:23 PM PDT by verum ago
Washington’s first plug-in ferry will begin shuttling cars and passengers across Puget Sound by the end of next week.
Gov. Bob Ferguson made the announcement Thursday during a celebratory demonstration lap around Elliott Bay on the ferry Wenatchee, concluding a challenging conversion to hybrid-electric propulsion over the past 22 months.
*SNIP*
“Washington state is a great visionary state. It deserves a great visionary boat and it has got one today,” Inslee exulted.
*SNIP*
The complicated shore power infrastructure is in the design phase for the downtown Seattle, Bainbridge, Bremerton, Kingston and Clinton terminals. The Seattle terminal’s plug-in charging arm and power supply will probably be completed first, but not before 2029, according to a presentation to the state House Transportation Committee on Tuesday.
(Excerpt) Read more at kitsapsun.com ...
TOPICS: Local News; Miscellaneous; Science; Society
KEYWORDS: deathtrap; ev; ferry; firetraps; seattle; washington; wenatchee
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(Added emphasis is mine)
Great news guys! Washington has a ferry capable of running of battery power!
...It just doesn't have any way of charging those batteries except its onboard diesels, and won't for at least 4 years, and that's according to those who have an interest in fudging the timetable. It was supposed to early next year, but just California's high speed rail, I'm gonna classify their timeline as "maybe eventually".
$133,000,000 for a ship that can run on batteries, but has no charger. Heck, the charging system doesn't even have a valid design yet.
So, in summary:
The lede:
Washington’s first plug-in ferry will begin shuttling cars and passengers across Puget Sound by the end of next week.
Reality:
there's nothing to plug it into, and they don't even have a design for it!
1
posted on
07/11/2025 6:21:23 PM PDT
by
verum ago
To: verum ago
"$133,000,000 for a ship that can run on batteries, but has no charger."
What could go wrong? And I bet some politicians and their big donors got a cut of that money.
2
posted on
07/11/2025 6:25:47 PM PDT
by
mass55th
(“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” ― John Wayne)
To: verum ago
$133,000,000 for a ship that can run on batteries, but has no charger.There are no words...
3
posted on
07/11/2025 6:26:49 PM PDT
by
GOPJ
(Democrats judge themselves by thier 'intentions' NOT by their results. It's one reason they fail.)
To: verum ago
4
posted on
07/11/2025 6:27:33 PM PDT
by
verum ago
(I figure some people must truly be in love, for only love can be so blind.)
To: verum ago
Suggestion - let electric cars ride for free, and hook up their batteries to the engines. Then have tow trucks to tow the cars to charging stations, and charge them $75.00 per tow.
5
posted on
07/11/2025 6:28:45 PM PDT
by
PAR35
To: verum ago
Any idea when the batteries will catch on fire, and the ferry will sink? The article doesn’t say.
Side point: Submarines used to run on battery power when submerged. But those boats were designed and run by serious adults. That’s almost certainly not the case here.
6
posted on
07/11/2025 6:30:29 PM PDT
by
Leaning Right
(It's morning in America. Again.)
To: verum ago
Hopefully, the batteries won’t blow up.
Puget Sound is not warm. You have to wear a suit to go scuba diving up there even in summer and the water is cold and dark.
To: verum ago
I really enjoy the renewable energy porn and there’s no shortage of it just like there’s no shortage of the not very bright and ignorant politicians and “environmentalists” that push it.
And we all know they’re ‘played’ by the grifters but we tax payers have to pay that bill.
8
posted on
07/11/2025 6:34:28 PM PDT
by
KamperKen
(u)
To: verum ago
The bad news: you’re stuck in the middle of Puget Sound waiting for the solar panels to recharge the batteries. The worse news: it’s raining. Welcome to the Pacific Northwest.
To: verum ago
What happens when you get a battery fire on a ferry?
Thousands and thousands of pounds of battery.
10
posted on
07/11/2025 6:38:37 PM PDT
by
Mariner
(War Criminal #18)
To: verum ago
It is like a train engine except it’s hauling a lot of expensive batteries.
To: verum ago
12
posted on
07/11/2025 6:42:05 PM PDT
by
BobL
To: verum ago
And imagine an EV catching fire while ON the ferry - break out the weenies!
13
posted on
07/11/2025 6:42:07 PM PDT
by
decal
(They won't stop, so they'll have to be stopped)
To: alternatives?
It is like a train engine except it’s hauling a lot of expensive batteries.
You know, it's a fair point that the diesel-electric part is actually a significant improvement in efficiency, at least according to the article. There's a reason trains don't use mechanical transmissions anymore.
But yup, she's hauling around a lot of deadweight for no practical reason.
14
posted on
07/11/2025 6:42:12 PM PDT
by
verum ago
(I figure some people must truly be in love, for only love can be so blind.)
To: decal
And imagine an EV catching fire while ON the ferry - break out the weenies!
Well, it's Seattle, so it's probably ground bug or vegan weenies, so ewww...
15
posted on
07/11/2025 6:44:05 PM PDT
by
verum ago
(I figure some people must truly be in love, for only love can be so blind.)
To: verum ago
What I like about hybrid ferries is that when you step on the brake, say for a red light or going downhill, the batteries recharge. That should save them a lot of carbon emission.
16
posted on
07/11/2025 6:44:43 PM PDT
by
BobL
To: verum ago
“Washington’s fifty-fourth diesel-electric ferry” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
17
posted on
07/11/2025 6:44:50 PM PDT
by
Rinnwald
To: verum ago
After roasting them in several thousand degree heat, it may not matter...
18
posted on
07/11/2025 6:46:13 PM PDT
by
decal
(They won't stop, so they'll have to be stopped)
To: decal
“And imagine an EV catching fire while ON the ferry - break out the weenies!”
Once an EV fire on a ferry kills several hundred people I really doubt they’ll continue to be allowed.
19
posted on
07/11/2025 6:46:28 PM PDT
by
BobL
To: verum ago
Bob “The “Grandmother Slayer” Ferguson.
20
posted on
07/11/2025 6:47:53 PM PDT
by
Robwin
( )
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