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Private company

Clipper Navigation

Logo: FRS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

Ferry operator in Washington, United States and British Columbia, Canada

Clipper Navigation, Inc., is an American ferry operator and subsidiary of Förde Reederei Seetouristik based in Seattle, Washington. They provide multiple transportation and vacation packages—many of which are offered under the name Clipper Vacations—including hotel and tour packages in Seattle and in Victoria, British Columbia, and Vancouver, British Columbia. The company operates the Victoria Clipper, a passenger ferry service between downtown Seattle and the Inner Harbour in downtown Victoria.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1986Founded1
  • HeadquartersSeattle1
  • Websitewww.clippervacations.com
  • Legal formProfit Corporation3
  • LEI549300LIB5SILS3X3U893
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusLapsed (not renewed)3
  • Registered addressC/O REGISTERED AGENT SOLUTIONS, INC., 98501 Tumwater, United States3
  • Registered withCorporations Division (Office of the Secretary of State), 600 615 0133

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Victoria Clipper 1 in Seattle
Photo: Barek, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons6

Clipper Navigation, Inc., is an American ferry operator and subsidiary of Förde Reederei Seetouristik based in Seattle, Washington. They provide multiple transportation and vacation packages—many of which are offered under the name Clipper Vacations—including hotel and tour packages in Seattle and in Victoria, British Columbia, and Vancouver, British Columbia.2

The story

Clipper Navigation, Inc., was founded in 1986 with the original MV Victoria Clipper I on the Seattle/Victoria route. The MV Clipper II was actually two different boats that ran to the San Juan Islands. Then the MV Victoria Clipper III (now MV San Juan Clipper) was purchased. The service between Seattle and Friday Harbor, Washington provides orca and gray whale watching out of that port and has been in operation since 1991 daily from mid-May through September. As Clipper Navigation grew, it launched Clipper Vacations.

In 2009, Clipper Navigation partnered with the state of Washington and allowed the installation of oceanographic sensors on the passenger ferry Victoria Clipper IV to gather data about the Puget Sound.

German navigation company Förde Reederei Seetouristik (FRS) acquired Clipper Vacations in 2016. FRS announced plans to expand the company's service to include routes between Victoria and Vancouver, and between Florida and Cuba.

From Wikipedia’s article on Clipper Navigation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Products and brands

Fleet

The Clipper fleet currently consists of two high-speed catamarans, the MV Victoria Clipper V and the MV Emerald Clipper that serve Seattle, Victoria, and Friday Harbor. FRS Clipper Navigation introduced a new whale watching vessel to replace the MV San Juan Clipper. The new vessel was christened on April 16, 2026 and is currently in service. The Emerald Clipper was designed by One2Three Naval Architects in Sydney, Australia, and built by Mavrik Manrine Inc, in La Conner, Washington. The Clipper fleet includes one of the fastest passenger vessels in the western hemisphere.

Clipper Navigation was also responsible for operating the MV Princess Marguerite III, a car ferry between Seattle and Victoria. Its operation was ended in 1999 due to the extremely high costs associated with the six-hour trip between ports. Currently, there is no car service between Seattle and Victoria. The primary choice for passengers with cars is the MV Coho ferry out of Port Angeles. The Washington State Ferry from Anacortes, Washington to Sidney, British Columbia to Victoria was discontinued. The WSF announced that they don't anticipate being able to return the Sidney run to service until 2030. Clipper Vacations can book passengers who wish to take the Coho in conjunction with a hotel stay. The Clipper also ran the MV Victoria Clipper I, and the MV Victoria Clipper IV.

Operations

The Clipper has one daily round-trip ferry service that travels between Pier 69 in downtown Seattle and downtown Victoria, taking approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes. The MV Victoria Clipper carries 525 passengers.

Clipper Vacations provides hotel and tour packages in Victoria, Seattle and Vancouver.

Read the full text

In 2025, CEO Mark Collins reported that ridership was decreasing due to tensions between Canada and the US, causing the company to decrease the number of roundtrip ferries per week.

From Wikipedia’s article on Clipper Navigation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Timeline

  1. 1986Founded Founded1

Funding

Where the company's money came from, by calendar year: private offerings filed with the SEC, federal grants, loans, contracts and other assistance from USAspending.gov, and PPP loans from the SBA. Each bar links to the records below.

Money received by year$2.7M 2020–2021
Money received by yearMoney received by year, 2020–2021: $2.7M in all. PPP loans $2.7M.$0$500K$1M$1.5M2020 · PPP loans: $1.3M20202021 · PPP loans: $1.3M2021
Figures by year
YearPPP loansTotal
2021$1.3M$1.3M
2020$1.3M$1.3M

PPP loans

Paycheck Protection Program loans of $150,000 and up, approved April 2020 to July 2021, from the SBA7. Matched to this company by name and state.

  1. Apr 10, 2020$1.3M PPP loan (first draw) from KeyBank National Association7To CLIPPER NAVIGATION, INC, Seattle WA; $1.4M forgiven Jan 26, 2021
  2. Mar 26, 2021$1.3M PPP loan (second draw) from KeyBank National Association7To CLIPPER NAVIGATION INC., Seattle WA; no forgiveness recorded

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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