After a lengthy pilot period of relaxed restrictions on pets within passenger cabins, WSF has released an updated pet policy. This new policy will take full effect on July 1, 2026. Key takeaways:

Under the updated policy, pets are allowed in three areas:

• On vehicle decks
• In outdoor passenger areas
• In marked areas inside cabins on the opposite end from the galley

Deputy Secretary of Transportation and Executive Director of Washington State Ferries Steve Nevey was on radio station KUOW discussing the new ships on order from Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. and the struggles WSF has with its aging fleet. Listen to the 21 minute interview which goes into detail on the system's vessel fleet deficit: "When will new WA ferries set sail?"

Washington State Ferries has updated its "Service Contingency Plan" to accommodate vessel numbers and to prepare for expected crowds during the FIFA World Cup (games in Seattle and Vancouver). With the plan in place, everyone is better informed about what will happen when there are disruptions caused by mechanical failure or lack of crew. Of particular interest to San Juan County residents and visitors: WSF will "prioritize" Interisland service, with a particular focus on getting kids home from school; and a table that shows "vessel fit" for all vessels and routes (p. 13). WSF's Planning Manager Jason Rogers appeared at the May 5th SJC Ferry Advisory Committee Meeting and discussed in some detail the new plan from a San Juans perspective. You can watch that here, starting at the 9-minute mark. He also appears in an "internal" WSF video describing the plan at a high level as well as information about the complexities of scheduling in general.

Representing Lopez Island on the County's Ferry Advisory Committee for many years, retired WSF captain Ken Burtness is raising the alarm over the ferry system's aging fleet and slow release of additional funds for new boats. From last year's legislative session, the state legislature allocated funds for up to three new vessels (to be commissioned in 2030, 2031, and 2032) and the contract has been awarded to Eastern Shipyards in Florida. By the end of that time, according to WSF's data, four to five vessels will have reached or passed their retirement age (looking at you dear Tillikum!), with six more over the decade following.

This past legislative session, Gov. Ferguson requested $1.5 billion to fund three additional vessels and maintenance to extend the working life of existing ones, but the funds were not allocated by the legislature. Each new vessel costs approximately $330,000,000. The 18 new vessels being built for BC Ferries are cheaper as they are built overseas, which is prohibited for US operators by the Jones Act. As we know, aging vessels will break down more frequently and finding replacement parts gets more and more difficult, impacting reliability.

Read more about this and watch an interview with Ken at CNL3: "Retired WSF Captain: ‘In 10 years time, WSF will be crippled’ by a lack of vessels". This is all in the context of numerous areas of infrastructure that need significant maintenance, repair, and replacement: "Guest Opinion | When growth ends and maintenance begins" (The Orcasonian).

UPDATED (in italics) April 12, 2026 - Washington State Ferries (WSF) has issued a contract termination letter to Anchor Operations and Reservations Tech Systems for the Ticketing and Reservation Modernization Project (TRM). Anchor was selected as the vendor in January 2025. Over the past year, the project has encountered significant delays and technical issues. According to WSF, approximately $773,000 was paid to Anchor, with an estimated reuse of about $432,000 of work completed. These figures do not include the cost of WSF staff assigned to the project nor that of the 3rd party quality assurance contractor.

The San Juan County FAC has previously asked in regular meetings that the project team engage in user testing of the product under development by local community members—something which has not happened to date. While WSF has indicated that they will be breaking the project into smaller modules for development and release, they have not yet indicated what kind of procurement process will take place or if work will be done internally as it was with the system we have now. New components are expected to be released starting late 2027 or early 2028 at the earliest. To date, a revised RFI/RFP has not been released.

Recent press about this contract termination includes an article in the Salish Current: "Collision course: Washington State Ferries terminates contract for streamlining reservations" in which County Councilmembers Fuller, McVeigh, and Paulsen (Chair) are quoted; and from the Journal of the San Juans:

”Ferry reservation modernization project sinks after contract cancellation”

Questions about this should be addressed to WSF Communications: wsfcomms@wsdot.wa.gov

Full text of WSF's announcement below:

Sent: Friday, March 6, 2026 4:43 PM
Subject: TRM Vendor Update

Good afternoon,

I’m writing to let you know that this afternoon Washington State Ferries issued a contract termination letter to Anchor Operating System, the vendor for the Ticketing and Reservations Modernization project, so we will be looking for a new vendor.

While we’ve made great progress on replacing our existing ticketing and reservations systems, the project has seen many challenges, including two delays in 2025. We need to find a vendor, or set of vendors, who can provide a reliable system that performs well for our customers and employees, and has the technical support needed for our daily operations.

Moving forward, we’ll restructure the project into smaller, more manageable components to minimize risk and disruption to WSF operations. While we don’t yet have a clear timeline for project implementation, we anticipate that our customers will start having an improved online experience in late 2027 or early 2028, at the earliest.

I want to recognize all the WSF employees who’ve worked very hard on this project, spending months working through challenges with the vendor. Much of the work completed with will still be used, helping us start future project work on a solid foundation.

Lastly, I know this is disappointing news for customers and community partners who were looking forward to more modern, upgraded systems, especially those on our routes that take vehicle reservations. This was not an easy or quick decision, but we’re confident that it is the best decision to ensure a successful project.

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Cheers, Tally
Tally Teal (she/her)
Community and Legislative Liaison
Washington State Ferries

March 9, 2026 - Washington State Ferries (WSF) has issued a contract termination letter to Anchor Operations and Reservations Tech Systems for the Ticketing and Reservation Modernization Project (TRM). Anchor was selected as the vendor in January 2025. Over the past year, the project has encountered significant delays and technical issues. The San Juan County FAC has previously asked in regular meetings that the project team engage in user testing of the product under development by local community members—something which has not happened to date. While WSF has indicated that they will be breaking the project into smaller modules for development and release, they have not yet indicated what kind of procurement process will take place or if work will be done internally as it was with the system we have now. New components are expected to be released starting late 2027 or early 2028 at the earliest.

Questions about this should be addressed to WSF Communications: wsfcomms@wsdot.wa.gov

Full text of WSF's announcement below:

Sent: Friday, March 6, 2026 4:43 PM
Subject: TRM Vendor Update

Good afternoon,

I’m writing to let you know that this afternoon Washington State Ferries issued a contract termination letter to Anchor Operating System, the vendor for the Ticketing and Reservations Modernization project, so we will be looking for a new vendor.

While we’ve made great progress on replacing our existing ticketing and reservations systems, the project has seen many challenges, including two delays in 2025. We need to find a vendor, or set of vendors, who can provide a reliable system that performs well for our customers and employees, and has the technical support needed for our daily operations.

Moving forward, we’ll restructure the project into smaller, more manageable components to minimize risk and disruption to WSF operations. While we don’t yet have a clear timeline for project implementation, we anticipate that our customers will start having an improved online experience in late 2027 or early 2028, at the earliest.

I want to recognize all the WSF employees who’ve worked very hard on this project, spending months working through challenges with the vendor. Much of the work completed with will still be used, helping us start future project work on a solid foundation.

Lastly, I know this is disappointing news for customers and community partners who were looking forward to more modern, upgraded systems, especially those on our routes that take vehicle reservations. This was not an easy or quick decision, but we’re confident that it is the best decision to ensure a successful project.

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Cheers, Tally

Tally Teal (she/her)
Community and Legislative Liaison
Washington State Ferries

SAN JUAN COUNTY, WA February 20, 2026 - Recent discussions with WSF at the County's monthly SJC Ferry Advisory Committee meetings and during WSF's own Community Meetings of January 21,2026, have provided some County-specific information to highlight:

• The Anacortes terminal building is in the queue for a "facelift" and the study for this has begun.
• Preliminary work is starting on getting the vessel Chelan re-certified for “Safety of Life at Sea” (SOLAS), which includes Coast Guard waivers to be able to make international trips in protected waters; plan for the Sidney run is still for 2030 when an additional vessel is available.
• Governor Ferguson's ask of the legislature for ferries includes $150M to refurbish the oldest vessels: the Tillikum, Kaleetan, and Yakima. This is in addition to the $1B for three vessels above the current 2+ under contract. Refurbishing the older vessels will allow WSF to keep them in service even after the first three new vessels arrive to gain ground in the fleet.
• Missed vehicle allotments on Lopez during disruptions has been addressed by operations.
• There has been no policy change eliminating cash payments. In limited situations (for example, online or kiosk), cash isn’t an option simply because those channels require electronic payment, but in-person ticketing continues to accept cash.

• Confirm that 3% credit card cost recovery fee will stay the same in the updated ticketing and reservation system (TRM). The 3% credit card cost recovery fee is not changing with the TRM project. TRM does not change fare policies or procedures, it’s just modernizing the technology that supports ticketing and reservations.

• Anacortes Terminal Camera: The broken camera has been replaced, and the view on the website should look normal again!
  
  
  
  
  
  

Two private companies have two, quite different, proposals for offering WSF some relief to its vessel shortage. Stabbert Maritime, a Seattle-based shipyard with a second facility in Anacortes, is proposing to refurbish two now-retired WSF vessels and then lease them back to WSF for 15 years. Meanwhile, Switch Maritime out of San Francisco, is showing off its emissions-free hydrogen powered ferries, specifically for the SJI routes! Full article from Washington State Standard, “Shipyard pitches bringing back retired state ferries to bolster strained service”.

"'I’m all for giving it a really good hearing," San Juan County Councilmember Justin Paulsen said. "We are at a point where we have to really do some creative thinking," was Paulsen’s takeaway. "We need to progress forward in a faster way."

SAN JUAN COUNTY, WA January 14, 2026 - Due to lack of previous investment in new vessels and the impending retirement of others (11 in the next 15 years), there are local concerns that the Washington State Ferry system will face about a decade of fleet shortfall with likely disruptions in service. While crewing has improved in the last few years, the number of available vessels has not, and the system has no "standby" boats.

"It’s safe to say that we have yet another decade of very concerning service levels across the Washington State Ferry system, not just San Juan County, but across the system. There is no quick fix," said San Juan County Council member Justin Paulsen in a recent interview in the Journal of the San Juan's article, "San Juan Islands brace for decade of ferry uncertainty despite billion-dollar state investment | New boats won’t serve islands; aging vessels and service disruptions are 'the new normal,' officials warn."

SAN JUAN COUNTY, WA January 14, 2026 - Washington State Ferries has been working with contractor Anchor Operating Systems to update the ferry system's ticketing and reservation platform. The project is delayed and the first route to pilot the new system will be Coupeville/Port Townsend, now planned for late 2026. So far, there has been no user testing of the product under development, and this has caused concerns. Reporter Darrell Kirk of the Journal of the San Juans has talked with locals about their concerns and produced this article: "Critics question ferry reservation system developers lack of user testing".

Just today, WSF announced at the County's FAC meeting that they will likely be showing the new system to the public for review, but not user testing, in the next month.