Nichols Brothers Boat Builders wants a piece of the action in the construction of four new Washington State ferries.
Earlier this month, the state ferry system called for request for proposals for the ferry design and construction. Nichols is one of the three shipyards, including J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding and Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation, that qualified as being both technically and financially capable of building the boats.
On Aug. 15, officials from the Freeland boatyard will join other area shipyard representatives at a pre-bid conference in Seattle at the Washington State Ferry terminal.
The conference is to allow contractors a look at the specification documents on the new vessels and to ask questions about the project.
Shipyard officials will get the rundown on the technical details of the new ferries, plus a look at the contracts and instructions necessary for pre-qualified shipbuilders to continue with the development of their proposals.
The pre-conference meeting signals the second phase in the procurement process.
Nichols President Bryan Nichols said they expect to pursue sub-contract work and continue to pick up contracts for other shipbuilding work.
“We hope we can be a subcontractor on the ferry project,†Nichols said.
“These are big boats. We would definitely like to get some of the work,†Nichols said.
The 144-car ferries will be able to carry 1,500 passengers and are expected to be deployed on the Mukilteo-Clinton, Seattle-Bremerton and San Juan Islands routes.
“We want to have a part in building the boats that serve Whidbey Island. We hope they will recognize we can do some of the fabrication here,†Nichols said.
The new boats are similar to the Issaquah class vessels that currently serve Whidbey Island.
Washington State Ferries is building the four new ferries to replace older vessels that are being retired; some are nearly 80 years old.
The first vessel is expected to be delivered in spring 2009, followed by the second vessel in fall 2009, a third vessel in summer 2010, and a fourth vessel in 2011.
“We are pleased to be moving forward, and we are thrilled that ferry riders are a step closer to experiencing the new boats,†said Mike Anderson, WSF executive director.
Washington State Ferries will convene an expert panel in marine vessel procurement to guide the construction of the new car ferries.
Nichols Brothers has been the subcontractor on various other projects, including a project for Pierce County for a 54-car ferry.
The end modules of the ferry were constructed at Todd Shipyard in Seattle. They have been delivered to Nichols and are being connected to the main center hull module. The rest of the vessel — including the car deck, passenger deck, and pilot house — are being fabricated at the Freeland shipyard.
Nichols is currently building the Grand Luxe, a 230-foot exposition dinner yacht to be used for fine art and jewelry sales and a 100-foot, Z-drive tractor tug for jockeying big ships in and out of harbors. The company just completed a 250-foot dump barge.
Gayle Saran can be reached at 221-5300 or gsaran@southwhidbeyrecord.com.
