Ferry from Westport to Ocean Shores? Lawmaker has a plan

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Washington state’s ferry service hit choppy waters in recent years — leading state Rep. Greg Nance, a Kitsap Democrat, to try and help right the ship.

Nance’s House Bill 1923 received a public hearing Feb. 27 in the Senate Transportation Committee and is scheduled for a committee vote this week. The bill, called the Mosquito Fleet Act, passed off the House floor in mid-February on an 84-11 vote.

The bill aims to get more passenger ferries on the Puget Sound in the short term; Nance noted at Friday’s hearing that the state’s big investments in Washington State Ferries’ hybrid-electric fleet are transformative but take time.

Nance said in a call that he’s a lifelong ferry rider, and the service is how his dad commuted to work for 32 years. The state is entering its seventh year of Washington State Ferries disruptions, he said. Cancellations and delays are having ripple effects on communities, he added, as many Washingtonians rely on the ferry to get to doctor’s appointments, school and work.

For Nance, seeing the state’s ferry service struggle has “broken (his) heart.”

“For me, it’s a personal mission,” he said. “I want to get this back on track.”

Most ports, local governments, private operators and tribes are barred under current state law from operating foot ferry service. But the Mosquito Fleet Act would broaden the scope, authorizing counties, port districts, city transit systems and other entities to establish passenger-only ferry service districts bordering Grays Harbor or Puget Sound.

A news release from Nance’s office says that certain strategic and historic routes could be reestablished under the act, including: * Olympia to SeaTac via Des Moines * Vashon to Seattle — Des Moines circle route * Port of Everett to South Whidbey * San Juan inter-island service to Bellingham * Westport to Ocean Shores * San Juan Islands to Sidney, B.C., which the release says would restore “a 103-year-old international connection paused since 2020.”

Nance’s office has touted the legislation as a boon to the maritime economy, in part by creating union jobs in vessel maintenance, operations and construction.

The bill also passed out of the House last year and received a public hearing in the Senate before sputtering out.

This year, 41 people signed in to testify in favor of the bill and only one person signed in “con.”

As she did in 2025, Donna Sandstrom with The Whale Trail nonprofit testified Friday against the legislation, citing concerns about whales. She noted a recent uptick in the southern resident population and said that human needs must be balanced against the need for whale protections.

“Unmanaged and unmitigated growth of this sector has the potential not only to be catastrophic for the southern residents, but to undo every bit of progress we have made in the last seven years,” Sandstrom said.

Nance told McClatchy that he’s taken such worries into consideration when designing the bill, adding that he’s working with organizations, including one that aims to lower vessel-traffic decibels in the Sound, to be mindful of maritime life. He pointed to an amendment to the bill that would further strengthen orca safeguards.

Others who signed up to testify in support of the act Friday: Port of Olympia President Jasmine Vasavada, Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler and John Carson, executive director of the Bainbridge Island Downtown Association.

In an emailed statement, Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello said the county recognizes the importance of connecting communities by water.

“Expanding local tools that allow counties to invest in passenger-only ferry service is a step in the right direction,” he said, “and we look forward to continuing to explore how ferry connections between Tacoma, Seattle, and other points across Puget Sound can support tourism, strengthen our economy, and help us build the kind of connected communities that are at the heart of our Forward Together vision.”

​​ The Mosquito Fleet Act could help reestablish historic and strategic routes, including:

San Juan Islands to Sidney, B.C., restoring a 103-year-old international connection paused since 2020

San Juan inter-island service to Bellingham

Port of Everett to South Whidbey

Olympia to Sea-Tac via Des Moines

Vashon–Seattle–Des Moines circle route

Westport to Ocean Shores

Remembering the El Matador

Ocean Shores and Westport are separated by less than two miles by sea across the entrance to Grays Harbor, but an hour by car.

But from 1968 until 2008, the passenger ferry El Matador cruised between the two cities full of passengers. The ferry operated from mid-June until Labor Day, crossing the Grays Harbor bar six times a day. The El Matador also cruised on weekends from April through June, and again in September. Whale watching was also part of the passage, as in spring a massive Gray Whale migration takes place in the Grays Harbor waters.

In an article in The Daily World dated April 16, 2008, the headline stated, “Ocean Shores-Westport summer ferry service grounded.”

The article continued, “Private passenger ferry between Westport and Ocean Shores won’t be operating this spring and summer.

“Owner Bill Walsh says there’s too much sand and silt at the entrance and inside the Ocean Shores Marina, and no governmental entity is prepared to apply for dredging permits. “Walsh says the problem has been getting worse for the past three years. He says there were fewer riders on the ferry El Matador because of longer times between sailings and higher fares — $12.50 per round trip, up from $10. He says he has had to discontinue service on occasion, but this is the first total shutdown since the ferry runs began in 1986. Westport Mayor Michael Bruce says the shutdown will probably hurt business.”

— The Daily World contributed to this story.