On Friday, Jan. 16, the Washington State Department of Transportation Ferries Division (WSF) closed the sale of the passenger-only fast ferries Chinook and Snohomish to the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District of Larkspur, California. The total sale price for the two vessels was $4m.
In 2006, the Washington State Legislature voted to end state funding for passenger-only ferries. In 2007 the Legislature directed WSF to conduct the sale process of the Chinook and Snohomish and deposit the sale proceeds into a passenger ferry account. The proceeds from the sale will be used to help fund county-run passenger-only ferry service.
The Chinook and Snohomish were built in the late 1990’s and provided passenger-only service between Seattle and Bremerton from 1998 to 2003. Golden Gate has up to 90 days after close of escrow to remove the vessels from WSF’s Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility.