A new study reports that construction of hybrid ferries by Freeland-based Nichols Brothers Boat Builders would be a boon to the local economy, with each vessel generating 1,298 jobs and $31.9 million in state and local taxes.

Pennsylvania-based Martin Associates was retained by the Port of Everett to estimate the local economic impact on the construction of five, 160-car hybrid-electric ferries.

“The budget is important, and we have demonstrated that the money spent in Washington comes right back to Washington, many times over,” Nichols Brothers CEO Gavin Higgins said. “However, the real watershed moment with this decision is the opportunity to re-seed the shipbuilders of Washington state with a new generation of trained journeyman shipbuilders that can carry their skills into the state’s future.”

Nichols Brothers Boat Builders and Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Florida submitted the only bids, which were opened earlier in May. The bid from Nichols Brothers was significantly more at $1.07 billion for the first three ferries while Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s price was $714 million.

Local officials said the Nichols Brothers bid was expected to be higher since the maritime industry in the state pays higher, living-wage jobs while environmental regulations are more onerous in Washington.

After the bid documents were open, Higgins sent a letter to Gov. Bob Ferguson that urges a “best case scenario” in which the two companies that bid on the project each build two of the ferries. The splitting of the contract would mean that the ferries could be built more quickly.

Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair said she was told by a Washington State Ferries official that the decision to award the bids will be made in the next couple of weeks.

“The infusion of cash directly into local communities has direct value to those communities and the state in money spent locally by working families, sales tax revenue, hundreds of new jobs at the Everett and Freeland boat yards as well as jobs in the supply chain,” she wrote in a Sound Off piece for The Record. “It also assures jobs into the future in maintenance and operations of ferries.”

If awarded to Nichols Brothers, the ferries would be built partially on Whidbey Island, but predominantly at the Port of Everett, according to a press release from the Port of Everett. One of the vessels will be used on the Clinton-to-Mukilteo ferry route.

According to the Martin Associates study, Nichols Brothers provided detailed expenditure data for construction of each ferry. Each ferry would cost about $300 million and would take about three years to build.

The construction of each ferry would support 577 direct jobs, 308 induced jobs and 413 indirect jobs. It would also generate an estimated $131.3 million in wages and local expenditures. Each shipyard worker would earn an average of $104,000 in wages and benefits, the report states.

Other businesses would also benefit, the study finds. Each ferry would generate an estimated $50 million in purchases of materials and services by companies in the state. Each boat would also generate $31.9 million in state and local taxes.

“Building the new fleet of hybrid Washington State Ferries in-state means investing in the next generation of Washington state shipyard workers, their families and local businesses,” Port of Everett CEO Lisa Lefeber said in a press release. “Shipbuilding is an important industry to the state economy, and at the end of the day, these ferries will need to be maintained in the Puget Sound, so it makes sense to invest in a skilled workforce now. Further, building, at least some, of the ferries in the state creates resiliency in the on-time delivery of the new ferries.”