OLYMPIA – Washington State Ferries has accepted three Puget Sound area shipyards’ joint plan for building four new ferries.
Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle will be the prime contractor on the project. J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding of Tacoma and Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Whidbey Island will be subcontractors.
The state has approved spending nearly $348 million for the 144-car, 1,500-passenger ferries.
“The construction of four new ferries will move us toward a goal to renew the state’s fleet,” Gov. Chris Gregoire said in a statement announcing the decision Tuesday.
A new law signed by Gregoire in May allowed the three to work together in getting the first boat completed by 2009.
Lawmakers approved construction of the four ferries in 2001 and a contract was awarded to Todd in 2005, but Martinac claimed it had been knocked out of the competition illegally, and a judge agreed. More litigation followed.
The boats could be used systemwide, but the plan would be to use one on the Anacortes-San Juan route, another on the Seattle-Bremerton route, and two on the Mukilteo-Clinton route, said Marta Coursey, spokeswoman for the ferry system.
“The taxpayers of Washington have needed these boats,” Coursey said. “The fact the governor was able to make this happen with these three shipyards, who are historically competitors, is a remarkable thing.”
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