FERRY OPERATORS • The World’s BestMORE THAN HALF OF WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES’ 23-VESSEL FLEET IS SCHEDULED TO BE RETIRED BY 2040. ThE FERRY sYs-TEM NEEds 16 NEw vEssEls iN ThE Suquamish in Elliott Bay NExT 20 YEARs, IN-during sea trials in July 2018. CLUDING 13 FERRIES Photo: Washington State Department of TransportationTO REPLACE VESSELS DUE FOR RETIREMENT AND THREE ADDITION-AL VESSELS …cAlls FoR ElEcTRiFYiNg ThE FERRY FlEET To REdUcE FUEl UsE, EMissioNs, NoisE ANd MAiNTENANcE cosTs.”CMYCMMYas far as north as Prince Rupert, is con-CYverting two of its largest vessels to LNG. Its Spirit of British Columbia (2,100 CMYpassengers/crew and 358 cars capacity) Kreturned to service in June, 2018 after being converted at the Remontowa Ship Repair Yard S.A., in Gdansk to run on LNG. The vessel is serving the Vancou-ver (Tsawwassen) to Victoria (Swartz Bay) run. Its sister vessel, Spirit of Vancouver Island, is expected to com-plete its conversion in mid 2019. Three smaller vessels, dual fueled with LNG or low sulfur diesel fuel, Salish Orca, Sal-ish Eagle, and Salish Raven (each 600 passengers/ crew and 138 cars capacity serving other parts of the system) were delivered to BC Ferries from the Polish yard, all in 2017. Ferry operators in the San Francisco Bay region are at the forefront of moves to non-fossil fuel sources, especially re-newable diesel (fuel made from animal fats and greases, for example). A num-ber of the operators around the Bay Area are in the early stages of this transition, in 2019- these include private operators Hornblower, Golden Gate Ferry, Blue and Gold, and the municipal operator www.marinelink.com 29