The bids are in for the project to add new hybrid-electric vessels to Washington State Ferries’ fleet, which will serve the Clinton-Mukilteo route after the first boat is delivered in 2029.

Bids were submitted by the Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Florida and Whidbey’s own Nichols Brothers Boat Builders. A shipyard in Philadelphia, which had been pre-qualified to submit a bid, did not do so.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s price for the first three vessels came in at about $714 million while Nichols Brothers’ came in at around $1.07 billion, according to a draft of a bid review document released by State Ferries May 12. The state legislature has set aside $1.3 billion in funding for the new ferries and charging infrastructure.

Sen. Ron Muzzall, a Republican from Oak Harbor, said he’s pleased with the bids since he worried that they would be much more. He said he supports the contract going to the lowest bidder in order to save taxpayer money.

“I would have preferred that Nichols Brothers had the lowest bid,” he said. “But it’s incredibly difficult in this state to compete on a national level because of the high wages and regulations.”

Nichols Brothers’ bid was high even with a 13% bid credit authorized by the legislature to incentivize home state construction. Muzzall said Nichols received the credit because the company works with unions and has an apprenticeship program.

Muzzall said he was pleased that the hybrid boats will have a tier 4 diesel engine, which he described as being incredibly efficient and clean-burning.

The state plans to create an electric charging station for the ferry on the Clinton side of the route, but Muzzall said that may be far off. A recent bid for a project at a Seattle area route came in at $20 million, he said, which State Ferries currently doesn’t have.

As a result, the senator said, the new ferries will likely run on diesel when they first come into service.

Rep. Dave Paul, a Democrat from Oak Harbor and a budget writer for the House Transportation Committee for ferries, said it’s not surprising that Nichols Brothers’ bid is higher than the out-of-state shipyard. The Whidbey company, he noted, has long said that some of the things it is doing to help protect the environment and utilize its robust apprenticeship program will raise the cost of production.

Gavin Higgins, the company’s CEO, said Nichols Brothers must meet all State Ferries’ contractual obligations that invoke state requirements including prevailing wage, apprentices, small and veteran-owned businesses that companies outside of Washington aren’t held to. In addition, the shipbuilder must meet all the state’s other criteria, including environmental and health and safety.

“These are much stricter than the federal government standards and upheld much more rigorously,” Higgins said in an email. “These cost a lot, wage differential alone is going to be over $35 per hour.”

Nichols Brothers noted that building ferries within the state, despite the difference in cost, will employ hundreds of skilled welders, electricians, pipefitters, painters and many other trades.

While Nichols Brothers’ bid is higher, Paul pointed out that it would be a boost to the local economy if chosen. It would also allow for more direct face-to-face collaboration with State Ferries.

“It’s just a very challenging process when you don’t know how much the shipyards think it’s going to cost, and now we do,” Paul said. “We might be in a situation where we have multiple contracts.”

This means that bid contracts could potentially be awarded to both Nichols Brothers and the Florida shipbuilder. Paul said this possibility was planned for so the new boats could get built as quickly as possible. The state legislature has budgeted for three ferries with the intent to fund five.

Nichols Brothers has said that two contracts “allows the state to reduce the risk of catastrophic delays due to hurricane weather events in Florida that have halted construction progress on occasion.”

Dana Warr, a spokesperson for State Ferries, said price is only one factor, and no assumptions should be made about awarding the contract.