San Juan County Marine Transportation Services

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San Juan County is leading a pilot project to establish marine transportation services throughout the County. These services include emergency barge and foot-passenger transportation during disruptions to Washington State Ferry (WSF) service as well as travel to and from the mainland (Anacortes) on a daily basis. Each of these services is provided at no cost to the passengers, subsidized by the County’s emergency funding awarded by the Governor’s Office. The pilot project will conclude on June 30, 2025.

Project Background

In August of 2024, Council issued a request to the Governor’s Office for ‘executive relief’ from ferry service disruptions, providing a 180-day proposal. This request was granted in September when WA State Governor Jay Inslee traveled to Friday Harbor to announce an award of $1.5 million from the Department of Commerce’s Emergency Rapid Response fund, with a contract finalized in November.

In the winter of 2024/2025, County staff developed Requests for Proposals for three services and outlined the scope of work. In the Spring of 2025, Council reviewed the proposals, selected operators, and executed the contracts. Services became available the week of April 14, 2025 and will run through June 30, 2025.

Available Services

San Juan County has contracted with three local companies to provide:

  • Daily Passenger Service Between Anacortes and San Juan County – San Juan Safarisis providing seven-day a week, twice daily passenger-only service to Lopez, Orcas, San Juan, and Downtown Anacortes via Cap Sante Marina. With one trip in the morning and another in the evening, this service is structured to provide complete, round-trip service for passengers.
  • Emergency Interisland Passenger Service – Outer Island Excursions will provide emergency passenger-only service to Lopez, Orcas, and San Juan Islands when the WSF interisland boat experiences service disruptions. These services will be available when the WSF interisland boat is out-of-service and/or service restoration time is either unknown or estimated at greater than four hours. County services will begin within two hours of the WSF disruption. During WSF service disruptions, operators will provide two service runs – one in the morning and one in the evening in an effort to provide complete, round-trip service for passengers. If the WSF service disruption occurs after 1:00pm, the operator will provide one trip through the route.
  • Emergency Barge Service – Pintail Marine will provide emergency barge service for essential service providers between Lopez, Orcas, San Juan, Shaw, and Anacortes when WSF experiences service disruptions. These services will be available when either WSF service is estimated to be out-of-service for greater than 24 hours or when the WSF mainland service is reduced to fewer than a 2-boat schedule. This service is provided for the purpose of meeting critical health and life/ safety needs.


San Juan County is leading a pilot project to establish marine transportation services throughout the County. These services include emergency barge and foot-passenger transportation during disruptions to Washington State Ferry (WSF) service as well as travel to and from the mainland (Anacortes) on a daily basis. Each of these services is provided at no cost to the passengers, subsidized by the County’s emergency funding awarded by the Governor’s Office. The pilot project will conclude on June 30, 2025.

Project Background

In August of 2024, Council issued a request to the Governor’s Office for ‘executive relief’ from ferry service disruptions, providing a 180-day proposal. This request was granted in September when WA State Governor Jay Inslee traveled to Friday Harbor to announce an award of $1.5 million from the Department of Commerce’s Emergency Rapid Response fund, with a contract finalized in November.

In the winter of 2024/2025, County staff developed Requests for Proposals for three services and outlined the scope of work. In the Spring of 2025, Council reviewed the proposals, selected operators, and executed the contracts. Services became available the week of April 14, 2025 and will run through June 30, 2025.

Available Services

San Juan County has contracted with three local companies to provide:

  • Daily Passenger Service Between Anacortes and San Juan County – San Juan Safarisis providing seven-day a week, twice daily passenger-only service to Lopez, Orcas, San Juan, and Downtown Anacortes via Cap Sante Marina. With one trip in the morning and another in the evening, this service is structured to provide complete, round-trip service for passengers.
  • Emergency Interisland Passenger Service – Outer Island Excursions will provide emergency passenger-only service to Lopez, Orcas, and San Juan Islands when the WSF interisland boat experiences service disruptions. These services will be available when the WSF interisland boat is out-of-service and/or service restoration time is either unknown or estimated at greater than four hours. County services will begin within two hours of the WSF disruption. During WSF service disruptions, operators will provide two service runs – one in the morning and one in the evening in an effort to provide complete, round-trip service for passengers. If the WSF service disruption occurs after 1:00pm, the operator will provide one trip through the route.
  • Emergency Barge Service – Pintail Marine will provide emergency barge service for essential service providers between Lopez, Orcas, San Juan, Shaw, and Anacortes when WSF experiences service disruptions. These services will be available when either WSF service is estimated to be out-of-service for greater than 24 hours or when the WSF mainland service is reduced to fewer than a 2-boat schedule. This service is provided for the purpose of meeting critical health and life/ safety needs.


  • County Council’s Request to Governor for Relief from Ferry Service Disruptions Not Fulfilled

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    SAN JUAN COUNTY, WA. August 21, 2024 – San Juan County Council issued a request to the Washington State Governor’s Office for a ‘State of Emergency’ and ‘executive relief’ from ferry service disruptions. The 180-day interim proposal outlined a plan for financing local marine transportation alternatives that would attempt to mitigate the significant impacts on the County’s economy and its ability to deliver essential public services, as well as significant transportation challenges experienced by residents and visitors.

    The County requested $995,670.00 in financial support from the State in three areas:

    1. Interisland passenger only water taxi service $ 279,450.00
    2. Anacortes / San Juan Islands passenger only ferry service $ 659,295.00
    3. On-call essential/critical services barge transportation $ 56,925.00

    Local Ferry Data

    Council developed this funding request based on several key pieces of local data, including:

    This data reveals that island residents, businesses, and the County’s ability to provide essential public services are suffering from increasing disruptions to ferry service.

    Response from the State

    Due to a variety of factors, the State did not issue a State of Emergency or grant Council’s funding requests. WSF reports that they continue to achieve more than 90% reliability across the system – including on the Anacortes / San Juans Islands route.

    The Governor’s Office and WSF recognize ferry service deficiencies in the San Juans and thus are encouraging the San Juan County Council to develop a legislative ask for the upcoming legislative session that will begin in January of 2025. They recommend developing an ask utilizing the evidence base that the County has gathered in recent months to address the ongoing deficiencies in service on our State marine highway.

    On Saturday, August 24, 2024, Governor Inslee will travel to San Juan Island to meet with representatives of the County and Town Councils, County staff, and the Ferry Advisory Committee for further discussion of the islands’ ongoing ferry crisis.

    “We as a County government are acutely aware of the struggles our locals and visitors are experiencing due to ferry service disruptions, and we see impacts to our own ability to serve the public,” said Council Chair Jane Fuller. “We are in ongoing discussions with the Governor’s office, our state legislators, and local community stakeholders to seek solutions to these impactful disruptions, while at the same time exploring the role our County government can play in supporting interim measures.”

    Next Steps

    Council is grateful for the continued support of 40th district legislators and will continue to work together to coordinate and strengthen messaging around the need for reliable ferry service in the San Juans. The Council’s next regularly scheduled meeting is August 27 where they be discussing the development of a new legislative ask for the forthcoming legislative session.

    The Council Chair is currently in the process of establishing an external Transportation Working Group comprised of representatives from Chambers, Ports, non-profits, and other local entities. This group will be tasked with identifying local solutions to transportation issues that can be explored by the County government.

    All San Juan County residents are encouraged to participate in the State’s online public open house through August 23rd to provide local input on the draft ferry schedule re-write for the Anacortes / San Juans route. WSF is hopeful that an updated schedule will significantly help on-time performance and minimize "reset cancellations." The new schedule will go into effect in January 2025.

    The County will release additional updates as they become available.

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  • Ferry Data from Staff and Local Partners Shapes Council Request for ‘Executive Relief’ From WA State

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    SAN JUAN COUNTY, WA. August 13, 2024 – San Juan County remains committed to working with state officials to improve Washington State Ferry (WSF) service in the San Juan Islands. This summer, the County gathered survey data from partner organizations and internal departments, along with anecdotes from employees, residents, business owners, and visitors that have shaped a funding request to the Washington State Governor’s Office for ‘executive relief’ from ferry service disruptions.

    “We were thrilled by WSF’s response to supporting the interisland ferry route during the week of our County Fair,” said Council Chair Jane Fuller. On Thursday August 8, WSF committed additional crews and developed a contingency plan to keep the Tillikum running from August 14-18.

    “We also want to make sure that our community knows we’re paying attention and not giving up. We have faith in our state government and are continuing to do our due diligence in collecting the data and evidence we need to tell our story,” said Chair Fuller.

    Several key pieces of local data helped inform an ask to the governor’s office, including:

    This data reveals that island residents, businesses, and the County’s ability to provide essential public services are suffering from increasing disruptions to ferry service.

    While the Governor’s Office considers the County’s requests, the state has several short-term and long-term initiatives in the works to support ferry service in the San Juans, including:

    • WSF prioritized the San Juans for full-service restoration with 4/15 vessels assigned to those routes.
    • The legislature provided $100k to WSF to reimburse walk-on passengers that are stranded when the last sailing of the day is cancelled. WSF is developing the implementation policy now and the program should be available within the next month.
    • WSF is working on updating the ferry schedule for the Anacortes / San Juans route. This should significantly help on-time performance and minimize "reset cancellations." The online public open house is open through August 23rd and the new schedule will go into effect in January 2025.
    • WSF has started the procurement process to update the reservation system. The RFP was issued in early August with the goal of completing the project by the end of 2025.
    • WSF is prioritizing employee retention in the following ways:
      1. WSF is offering incentives for employees who accept relief requests for the interisland route. This is the only route in the entire system with this incentive.
      2. Contract negotiations are underway between the Office of Financial Management and the unions. Negotiations should be completed in the fall of 2024.

    The County acknowledges that while these initiatives don’t provide immediate relief to the struggles many islanders and visitors are facing today, these steps show the state is willing to listen and work with our County. The Council is grateful for the state’s continued attention and remains hopeful for additional financial support.

    The County will release more information on the executive relief funding request after further conversations with the Governor’s Office. Updates will be provided as they become available.