Kitsap Transit keeps the Annapolis ferry suspended after a Waterman battery fails

Kitsap Transit said on 6 November 2026 that the Annapolis–Bremerton foot ferry remains suspended indefinitely because of a shortage of operating vessels. The agency has increased the frequency of sailings on the Port Orchard–Bremerton route to meet demand in peak commute hours.

Annapolis ferry service was suspended on 22 October 2026, when M/V Waterman was taken out of service. The update says Waterman, put into service in 2019, was the first hybrid-electric commercial passenger ferry in the Pacific Northwest. Diesel generators power a 40-kWh battery bank on each side of the boat, with no direct connection between the diesel generator and the propeller. Each battery bank consists of seven water-cooled lithium-ion batteries.

Kitsap Transit traced the failure to one of the on-board batteries and shipped it to a repair facility. The facility determined that the battery was damaged beyond repair. The battery’s manufacturer has exited the market, and no other marine battery meets the software and hardware requirements of the propulsion system.

The agency said it is working with a shipyard to expedite repairs and maintenance on Carlisle II so that vessel can operate service in December, and that it is looking for commercial passenger vessels to charter that meet its operating requirements. It is in discussion with Glosten, the naval architecture and marine engineering firm that designed Waterman, on a path forward for the vessel.

The Admiral Pete, which is operating the Port Orchard–Bremerton route, is scheduled to be taken out of service in mid-January for dry-dock maintenance required by the Coast Guard every two years. During that period Kitsap Transit will operate Carlisle II on the Port Orchard–Bremerton route without a backup vessel.