If you use Washington State Ferries, from Fauntleroy or anyplace else, you probably know about Vessel Watch – the GPS-enabled online feature that shows you where any given ferry is at any time. WSF just announced it’s added a feature to Vessel Watch: The estimated time of arrival (ETA) for whatever ferry you’re keeping an eye on. Read on for the details:

The WSF news release:

Now there are no excuses to be late for winter holiday celebrations. Washington State Ferries (WSF) today launched a new feature that provides customers the estimated time of arrival (ETA) for vessels throughout the system.

ETA data is available at the bottom of the WSF VesselWatch page. The system calculates ETA based on a vessel’s current location, departure terminal and destination. It compares the GPS and historical sailing data to the record of similar vessels at similar locations along the same route. Factors such as weather and marine traffic conditions can affect the ETA calculations.

“I can’t wait for customers to try out this new tool,” said David Moseley, assistant secretary for Washington State Ferries. “It’s just one more piece of information that we can provide customers when they plan to take the ferry.”

This new ETA feature joins the customer Web-based toolkit, which includes VesselWatch, Best Travel Times and Terminal Cameras.

(We also have the Fauntleroy terminal camera on the WSB Traffic page.)