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RIDE KITSAP TRANSIT
Our Ferry Fleet
Kitsap Transit is proud to operate high-speed passenger ferry service from Bremerton, Kingston and Southworth to downtown Seattle. Our fast ferries shorten the travel time between the Kitsap Peninsula and downtown Seattle, creating new opportunities for work, school and play on both sides of the Puget Sound.
Likewise, our local foot ferries form a vital connection between downtown Bremerton and Port Orchard across Sinclair Inlet by shuttling Puget Sound Naval Shipyard employees to and from work every day and allowing South Kitsap residents to access Seattle via our Bremerton Fast Ferry service.
All vessel specifications listed below are from U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection.
Ferry Performance Indicators Dashboard
Click here for the Ferry Performance Indicators Dashboard (March 2024 update)
The dashboard covers our local and cross-sound passenger-only ferries. If you have questions or suggestions for the dashboard, please send an e-mail to Sanjay Bhatt, Marketing & Public Information Director, at sanjayb@kitsaptransit.com.
FAST FERRIES
Rich Passage 1The Rich Passage 1 (RP1) is Kitsap Transit’s first fast ferry. Featuring a patented hydrofoil-assisted hull design developed by Teknicraft in New Zealand, RP1 was a prototype ultra-low-wake ferry built to make the Bremerton/Seattle trip in about 30 minutes without generating wakes that could damage Rich Passage’s beaches. The research project demonstrated that the RP1 could successfully transport passengers through Rich Passage at full speed without having a discernible impact on beaches. The success of the Rich Passage Wake Research project paved the way for a ballot measure that voters approved in 2016, which allowed Kitsap Transit to fund our fast ferry program. Vessel informationName: The Rich Passage 1 is named for Rich Passage, the narrow waterway between Bainbridge Island and the Kitsap Peninsula. |
Photo courtesy of All American Marine |
Rich Passage Beach Monitoring
The Rich Passage Wake Research project was designed to investigate the feasibility of fast-ferry service through Rich Passage. Conducted over more than a decade and a half, the study involved extensive data collection, computerized wave and wake modeling, development and testing of a prototype low-wake vessel and ongoing monitoring of the effects of fast-ferry operations on the shorelines of Rich Passage. The research project has collected periodic measurements of beaches before and during operation of the low-wake optimized vessels. In January 2020 Kitsap Transit and its research project leader met with Rich Passage property owners to discuss the results of measurements taken between 2004 and 2019.
Reliance & Lady SwiftThe RP1’s sister ships were built with the RP1’s same ultra-low wake design and were enhanced to reduce vessel noise. Kitsap Transit used the Reliance and Lady Swift to launch two-boat service on the Bremerton/Seattle route in February 2020. Vessel information:Name: The Reliance and Lady Swift were named after vessels from the Mosquito Fleet era, a period in the late 19th and early 20th century before the automobile when a collection of hundreds of small boats and ferries transported passengers and cargo to locations across the Puget Sound. |
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FinestAfter Kitsap Transit bought Finest from New York Waterway in 2018, the ferry was shipped through the Panama Canal and underwent a $7.5 million refurbishment before starting on the Kingston route in late 2018. The Finest was one of hundreds of vessels that assisted in the Great Boatlift on 9/11, in which half a million people were evacuated from Lower Manhattan after the Twin Towers fell following terrorist attacks. Check out our short documentary on the Finest refurbishment: "Finest: A Ferry Reborn." Vessel information: |
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Enetai and CommanderKitsap Transit’s two newest ferries were designed and built to fit into the bow-loading slips at the Washington State Ferries dock in Southworth. The ferries also had to be designed to load from the side to board passengers at Pier 50 in Seattle. The vessels are physically identical. Vessel information: Name: The Enetai and Commander are named after vessels from the Mosquito Fleet era. |
Photo courtesy of Nichols Brothers Boat Builders |
SolanoKitsap Transit bought the M/V Solano from the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) in 2021. We plan to refurbish it for use as a spare vessel in our fast-ferry fleet. Vessel information: Name(s): The Solano is named after Solano County, California, where the Solano spent 15 years shuttling passengers between the city of Vallejo and downtown San Francisco. The county is named after a Native American Chief.Year Built: 2004 Route: TBD Capacity: 350 passengers, bicycle capacity TBD. Length: 126' Beam: 38' Engines: 2 Horsepower: 6,622 Speed (knots): 30 cruising/32 top |
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LOCAL FERRIES
WatermanThe Waterman is the first hybrid-electric ferry to operate commercial passenger service in the Puget Sound. It operates on battery power while idling and loading passengers, reducing cardbon-dioxide emissions and increasing the efficiency of its diesel engine. Vessel information: Name(s): The Waterman is named after a small unincorporated community in South Kitsap.Year Built: 2019 Route: Port Orchard-Bremerton Capacity: 150 passengers, 5 bicycles Length: 70' Beam: 26' Engines: 2 Horsepower: 725 Speed (knots): 10 cruising/15 top |
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Carlisle IIThe century-old Carlisle II is the oldest continuously operated ferry in the Puget Sound. Built in 1917, it's one of only two operational Mosquito Fleet-era vessels. The Carlisle II recently underwent a $1.5 million renovation that upgraded the ferry with a new engine, generator, propeller, navigation system, planking and windows. Vessel information: Name(s): The Carlisle II is named after the Carlisle Packing Company, a Bellingham-based salmon cannery that operated in the early 20th Century.Year Built/Refurbished: 1917/2021 Route: Port Orchard-Bremerton Capacity: 140 passengers, 5 bicycles Length: 60' Beam: 20' Engines: 1 Horsepower: 404 Speed (knots): 10 knots |
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Admiral PeteThe Admiral Pete has a long history in the Puget Sound, serving both King County Water Taxi and Kitsap Transit’s local ferry routes. Vessel information: Name(s): Admiral Pete is named after Rear Admiral William F. Petrovic, a naval engineer and former Puget Sound Naval Shipyard commander. Petrovic was informally known as “Admiral Pete.”Year Built/Refurbished: 1994/2012 Routes: Port Orchard-Bremerton and Annapolis-Bremerton Capacity: 120 passengers, 5 bicycles Length: 65' Beam: 20' Engines: 2 Horsepower: 810 Speed (knots): 12 cruising/22 top |
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