The first two of a new class of vessels designed by Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Group LLC (EBDG) and built for the Port Aransas Ferry Service went into operation on July 1. EBDG was selected by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Corpus Christi District, to prepare the design for this new 160-ft, double-ended ferry serving as a continuation of Texas State Highway 361 across the Corpus Christi Channel, between Port Aransas and Harbor Island. The new vessels, the Michael W. Behrens and the Charles W. Heald, are named for former directors of the transportation department.