Seattle Imagines Electric Hydroplane Ferries for 2026 World Cup

This project is vastly different than the flawed and over-budget WA State Ferry system, and because it's being developed in the private sector, it might have a chance.

   Seattle-based group imagines electric hydroplane ferries in time for World Cup

According to Geekwire and other sources, a grandiose plan to have a small fleet of water ferries available to service the huge crowds expected to come to Seattle for several 2026  World Cup soccer games could happen, but faces some big hurdles.

A San Francisco-based company called Prop SF is currently operating these 29-passenger watercraft that are electric-powered, and skim on the water like a hydroplane.

The plan is a joint effort of Pierce County, The Port of Tacoma, and Prop SF, but faces questions about where the watercraft would leave from and dock following the 35-mile trip from Tacoma to Seattle. An Irish company called Artemis Technologies builds these kinds of vessels, and the plan is to lease several of them.  Click here to see one of these hydro ferries.

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However, several federal laws concerning the use of foreign-built craft for such purposes could curtail the idea.

Officials have put forth several million in seed money to develop the plan, and are hoping if it comes to fruition, it would last long beyond the World Cup.  But they're also aware of the issues the WA State Dept. of Transportation has had trying to electrify its fleet, which has yet to come anywhere close to expectations.

Geekwire reports that a similar plan about ten years ago was proposed by real estate  company Seco Development to carry passengers between its Renton location and the high-tech business area of South Lake Union. But since then, the project has been tangled up in bankruptcy.

The project may or may not happen, developers and the tech industry are watching closely.