September 11th, 2017
County ponders electric ferry
Skagit County’s Guemes Ferry replacement discussion ramped up in 2015 when all-electric propulsion for ferries became a reality as the Ampere, the world’s first all-electric vehicle and passenger ferry, entered service in Norway. In 2017, Skagit County issued a Request for Proposals for a naval architecture and marine engineering firm to provide design services for the new vessel and support through vessel procurement and construction. The County selected Glosten, a naval architecture firm from Seattle. Work on a design study, propulsion trade-off analysis, concept and preliminary design began in early August. Glosten representatives were available at an August 29 public session to discuss their scope of work and answer questions. For more information, visit www.skagitcounty.net/ferry and click on link for the Ferry Replacement Project.