diff --git a/docs/reference/cli.md b/docs/reference/cli.md
index af3862e..e9cce7d 100644
--- a/docs/reference/cli.md
+++ b/docs/reference/cli.md
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ floability run --instance <instance-name-or-path>
 
 - `--jupyter-port INT` (default: `8888`)
 - `--manager-ports A,B` (default: `9123,9150`)
+- `--worker-transfer-ports A:B` (optional): port range for worker-worker transfers (e.g. `10000:11000`). Passed as `--transfer-port` to vine_factory.
 - `--manager-name NAME`: TaskVine manager name (auto-generated if omitted)
 - `--env-vars KEY=VALUE,...`: environment variables to inject into the conda env
 
diff --git a/environment.yml b/environment.yml
index 8280548..c57e882 100644
--- a/environment.yml
+++ b/environment.yml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ channels:
   - conda-forge
 dependencies:
   - python
-  - ndcctools
+  - ndcctools>=7.17.0
   - pyyaml
   - requests
   - pip
diff --git a/floability/commands/argument_groups.py b/floability/commands/argument_groups.py
index e1bf054..b9623fa 100644
--- a/floability/commands/argument_groups.py
+++ b/floability/commands/argument_groups.py
@@ -204,3 +204,10 @@ def add_execution_args(parser: argparse.ArgumentParser) -> None:
         action="store_true",
         help="Enable debug mode for workers",
     )
+    
+    vf_group.add_argument(
+        "--worker-transfer-ports",
+        required=False,
+        help="Port range for worker-worker transfers (e.g. 10000:11000). Passed as --transfer-port to vine_factory",
+    )
+
diff --git a/floability/commands/workers.py b/floability/commands/workers.py
index 5a6c7d0..6002da6 100644
--- a/floability/commands/workers.py
+++ b/floability/commands/workers.py
@@ -60,6 +60,10 @@ def add_arguments(self, parser: argparse.ArgumentParser) -> None:
             action="store_true",
             help="Enable debug mode for workers.",
         )
+        start_parser.add_argument(
+            "--worker-transfer-ports",
+            help="Port range for worker-worker transfers (e.g. 10000:11000). Passed as --transfer-port to vine_factory",
+        )
 
         # workers stop sub-command
         stop_parser = workers_subparsers.add_parser(
diff --git a/floability/workers_manager.py b/floability/workers_manager.py
index 10c849c..c52fe99 100644
--- a/floability/workers_manager.py
+++ b/floability/workers_manager.py
@@ -292,6 +292,7 @@ def _normalize_compute_specs(
             "cores": _attr(cli_args, "cores_per_worker"),
             "batch_options": _attr(cli_args, "batch_options"),
             "debug_workers": _attr(cli_args, "debug_workers"),
+            "transfer_port": _attr(cli_args, "worker_transfer_ports"),
         },
     )
 
@@ -344,6 +345,7 @@ def _start_vine_factory(
         ("--timeout", "timeout"),
         ("--worker-extra-options", "worker_extra_options"),
         ("--condor-requirements", "condor_requirements"),
+        ("--transfer-port", "transfer_port"),
     ]:
         if cfg.get(key):
             cmd.append(f"{flag}={cfg[key]}")