Has this ship sailed?
When a Freeland-based shipbuilder was outbid by a Florida company for a Washington State Ferry contract earlier this year, it gave new life to a long-standing gripe within the state's manufacturing sector. That is, the cost of building in Washington puts the state's manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage.
In July, Nichols Bros. Boat Builders lost its $1 billion bid to build up to three hybrid-electric ferries for WSF, which estimated the cost of the contract at $722.8 million. The state ultimately chose Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group's bid of $864.5 million, prompting Nichols Bros. CEO Gavin Higgins to say he does not plan to bid for state ferry contracts again.
The decision to go with an out-of-state builder suggested Washington couldn't afford to do business with a homegrown manufacturer.
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For decades, Washington had an in-state requirement for ferry building, but that recently changed when legislators felt they couldn't keep up with the pace of replacing aging vessels. Senate Bill 5801, which was passed in April, changed that and altered the competitive landscape for Washington shipbuilders.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2025/09/16/ferguson-nichols-brothers-vigor-state-ferries.html