the ferry system operated on puget sound by the state of washington . for ferry systems in washington state operated by other entities see ferries in washington state . washington state ferries locale washington waterway puget sound salish sea transit type ferry owner washington state department of transportation operator washington state department of transportation began operation june 1 1951 1951 06 01 no . of lines 10 no . of vessels 22 no . of terminals 20 daily ridership 61 745 2013 website wsdot.wa.gov ferries washington state ferries wsf is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the u.s. state of washington as part of the washington state department of transportation . it runs ten routes serving 20 terminals located around puget sound and in the san juan islands designated as part of the state highway system . the agency maintains the largest fleet of ferries in the united states at 22 vessels carrying 23 million passengers in 2014 . 1 as of 2014 update it was the largest ferry operator in the united states 2 and the fourth largest ferry system in the world . 1 contents 1 history 2 routes 3 fleet 4 retired vessels 5 other ferries 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit the ferry system has its origins in the mosquito fleet a collection of small steamer lines serving the puget sound area during the later part of the nineteenth century and early part of the 20th century . by the beginning of the 1930s two lines remained the puget sound navigation company known as the black ball line and the kitsap county transportation company . a strike in 1935 forced the kctc to close leaving only the black ball line . 3 toward the end of the 1940s the black ball line wanted to increase its fares to compensate for increased wage demands from the ferry workers unions but the state refused to allow this and so the black ball line shut down . in 1951 the state bought nearly all of black ball s ferry assets for 5 million black ball retained five vessels of its fleet . 4 the state intended to run ferry service only until cross sound bridges could be built but these were never approved and the washington state department of transportation runs the system to this day . routes edit a map showing the routes operated by washington state ferries in comparison with state highways in washington . click for more detail . route name terminals state route designation 5 annual ridership 6 annual vehicles carried 6 notes anacortes sidney bc sidney british columbia friday harbor san juan island anacortes sr 20 spur 120 269 41 861 reservations recommended only route that operates internationally route does not operate in winter anacortes san juan islands friday harbor san juan island 1 974 239 909 195 reservations recommended not all trips serve all island terminals . lopez island shaw island orcas island interisland friday harbor san juan island orcas island shaw island lopez island fare free service port townsend coupeville port townsend coupeville whidbey island sr 20 787 391 362 203 reservations recommended mukilteo clinton clinton whidbey island mukilteo sr 525 4 113 029 2 237 947 edmonds kingston kingston edmonds sr 104 4 103 307 2 124 721 seattle bainbridge island winslow bainbridge island seattle colman dock sr 305 6 361 927 1 957 700 seattle bremerton bremerton seattle colman dock sr 304 2 659 813 670 688 fauntleroy vashon vashon island west seattle fauntleroy sr 160 2 925 008 1 722 982 all three services operated together as a triangle route . fauntleroy southworth southworth west seattle fauntleroy southworth vashon southworth vashon island 174 990 88 114 point defiance tahlequah tahlequah vashon island tacoma point defiance sr 163 768 574 450 258 fleet edit washington state ferry tacoma the hyak in rich passage heading to bremerton wa . as of 2016 update there are 22 ferries on puget sound operated by the state . 7 the largest vessels in this fleet carry up to 2500 passengers and 202 vehicles . they are painted in a distinctive white and green trim paint scheme and feature double ended open vehicle decks and bridges at each end so that they do not need to turn around . the ferry fleet consists of the following vessels 7 washington state ferries current fleet ferry name class year built rebuilt auto capacity passenger capacity speed knots notes mv klahowya evergreen state 1958 1995 87 792 13 mv tillikum evergreen state 1959 1994 87 1061 13 standby vessel . mv hyak super 1967 144 2000 17 mv kaleetan super 1967 2005 144 2000 17 mv yakima super 1967 2005 144 2000 17 mv elwha super 1967 1991 144 1069 20 upgraded to meet solas standards for sidney bc route in 1990 . mv spokane jumbo 1972 2004 188 2000 18 mv walla walla jumbo 1973 2003 188 2000 18 mv issaquah issaquah 130 1979 1989 124 1200 16 auto capacity increased in 1989 . mv kitsap issaquah 130 1980 1992 124 1200 16 auto capacity increased in 1992 . mv kittitas issaquah 130 1980 1990 124 1200 16 auto capacity increased in 1990 . mv cathlamet issaquah 130 1981 1993 124 1200 16 auto capacity increased in 1993 . mv chelan issaquah 130 1981 2005 124 1076 16 upgraded to meet solas standards for sidney bc route in 2005 . auto capacity increased in 2001 . mv sealth issaquah 100 1982 90 1200 16 mv tacoma jumbo mark ii 1997 202 2500 18 mv wenatchee jumbo mark ii 1998 202 2500 18 mv puyallup jumbo mark ii 1999 202 2500 18 mv chetzemoka kwa di tabil 2010 64 750 15.5 mv salish kwa di tabil 2011 64 750 15.5 mv kennewick kwa di tabil 2011 64 750 15.5 mv tokitae olympic 2014 144 1500 17 mv samish olympic 2015 144 1500 17 mv chimacum olympic 2017 144 1500 17 under construction . expected to be delivered in early 2017 . mv suquamish olympic 2018 144 1500 17 under construction . expected to be delivered in fall 2018 . retired vessels edit mv illahee was one of the steel electric class ferries which were retired in 2007 . mv kalakala was retired in 1967 since the beginning of state run ferry service in 1951 wsf has retired many vessels as they have become older too expensive to operate or maintain or have become too small to provide adequate ferry service . wsf owned passenger only vessels between 1985 and 2009 but after discontinuing its two passenger only routes in the 2000s wsf has sold its passenger only ferries to other operators . below is a list of ferries that wsf has retired since 1951 . unless otherwise noted all vessels introduced in 1951 were acquired from the black ball line when the state took over the company s routes and ferryboats in puget sound . washington state ferries retired fleet 8 ferry name class year built rebuilt year in service year retired auto capacity passenger capacity notes mv chippewa none 1900 1928 1932 1951 1964 52 950 converted to a car ferry in 1926 mv leschi none 1913 1951 1967 40 453 previously owned by king county and used on lake washington ss san mateo none 1922 1951 1969 50 659 purchased by psn in 1941 ss shasta none 1922 1951 1958 55 468 purchased by psn in 1941 mv rosario none 1923 1931 1951 1951 33 312 mv kitsap 1925 none 1925 1951 1961 32 325 mv crosline none 1925 1947 1951 1967 30 300 purchased by the state in 1947 mv kehloken wood electric 1926 1951 1972 50 770 purchased by psn in 1940 mv kalakala none 1926 1935 1951 1967 110 1943 originally built as mv peralta in 1926 ; rebuilt as kalakala in 1935 using peralta s hull mv enetai steel electric 1927 1951 1967 90 1500 purchased by psn in 1940 and converted to a single ended ferry mv willapa steel electric 1927 1951 1967 90 1500 purchased by psn in 1940 and converted to a single ended ferry mv chetzemoka 1927 wood electric 1927 1951 1973 50 400 purchased by psn in 1938 mv quinault steel electric 1927 1958 1985 1951 2007 59 616 purchased by psn in 1940 mv illahee steel electric 1927 1958 1986 1951 2007 59 616 purchased by psn in 1940 mv nisqually steel electric 1927 1958 1987 1951 2007 59 616 purchased by psn in 1940 mv klickitat steel electric 1927 1981 1951 2007 64 412 purchased by psn in 1940 mv klahanie wood electric 1928 1951 1972 50 601 purchased by psn in 1940 mv skansonia none 1929 1951 1969 32 465 operated under a state contract since 1940 after the tacoma narrows bridge collapsed mv vashon none 1930 1951 1980 50 646 mv olympic none 1938 1954 1993 55 605 purchased by wsf in 1954 mv rhododendron none 1947 1990 1954 2012 48 546 purchased by wsf in 1954 sold to atlantic capes fisheries in 2013 mv evergreen state evergreen state 1954 1988 1954 2016 87 854 mv kulshan none 1954 1970 1982 65 350 purchased by wsf in 1970 sold in 1982 and renamed mv governor mv hiyu none 1967 1967 2016 34 199 mv tyee none 1985 1985 2003 0 250 operating as m v glacier express in kenai fjords national park alaska as of 2013 9 10 mv kalama skagit kalama 1989 1989 2009 0 230 sold in 2011 mv skagit skagit kalama 1989 1989 2009 0 230 sold in 2011 ; capsized on july 18 2012 mv chinook passenger only fast ferry 1998 1998 2008 0 350 sold to golden gate ferries renamed mv golden gate mv snohomish passenger only fast ferry 1999 1999 2008 0 350 sold to golden gate ferries renamed mv napa other ferries edit main article ferries in washington state there are several other publicly operated private and passenger only ferries in washington state . see also edit washington portal nautical portal transportation portal alaska marine highway bc ferries black ball line ferries in washington state inter island ferry authority keller ferry king county ferry district seattle tugboats references edit a b wsdot ferries division wsf nation s largest ferry system pdf . washington state department of transportation . february 2014 . archived from the original pdf on 2015 02 05 . retrieved 2016 08 11 . kenneth button henry vega peter nijkamp eds . 2010 a dictionary of transport analysis edward elgar publishing p. 158 isbn 9781849804714 cs1 maint uses editors parameter link history of washington state ferry system wsdot.com retrieved march 15 2008 washington state ferries begins operations on june 1 1951 historylink.org retrieved march 15 2008 2004 2005 official state highway map washington state department of transportation retrieved march 15 2008 a b wsdot ferries division overview and fact sheet pdf . washington state department of transportation . february 2016 . retrieved july 17 2016 . a b washington state ferries our fleet wsdot.com retrieved november 4 2012 the ghost fleet of washington state ferries . evergreenfleet.com . retrieved 5 november 2012 . m v tyee evergreen fleet retrieved 2013 06 28 our fleet of vessels major marine tours retrieved 2013 06 28 external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to washington state ferries . official website evergreenfleet.com a history of washington state ferries past and present vehicle reservation predesign study v t e washington state ferries routes anacortes san juan islands edmonds kingston fauntleroy vashon southworth mukilteo clinton point defiance tahlequah port townsend coupeville seattle bainbridge seattle bremerton terminals colman dock seattle current fleet jumbo mark ii class mv tacoma mv wenatchee mv puyallup jumbo class mv spokane mv walla walla super class mv hyak mv kaleetan mv yakima mv elwha olympic class mv tokitae mv samish mv chimacum under construction mv suquamish under construction issaquah 130 class mv cathlamet mv chelan mv