OLYMPIA, Wash. — Commuters to and from Olympia might have another option in a couple of years. The Port of Olympia is exploring the establishment of electric-powered hydrofoil ferry service. “We’re ready to invest to make that happen,” said Port of Olympia President Jasmine Vasavada.Vasavada said the port is conducting feasibility and demand studies into the idea.
On Thursday port, city and county officials, along with legislators, got a demonstration of what a 12-person ferry made by Northern Ireland’s Artemis Technologies looks like. Vasavada said the first route would likely take passengers to Des Moines, where they could take a shuttle to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. She said ideally service would expand to Seattle. Vasavada said costs, fares, and other logistics would be determined by the results of the ongoing studies, but she hoped service could begin in 2028.
In 2018, state Sen. Sam Hunt, an Olympia Democrat, proposed the state study the feasibility and potential costs of a route between Washington’s capital city and Seattle. “A compact, modern-day fleet of passenger ferries running up the Puget Sound could offer an attractive alternative to commuting on I-5, as well as encouraging tourism between the Seattle area and the South Puget Sound,” Hunt’s office wrote in a document explaining the bill at the time. That bill did not pass out of committee, however. An August 2018 report from a Citizens Advisory Committee stated that the concept of a passenger-only ferry serving Thurston County “seems to stir a sense of nostalgia from those who want relief from nightmarish traffic.”