Paula Hammond News

Washington Governor Jay Inslee officially kicked off the construction of M/V Samish, the state’s newest 144-car ferry, by making the first weld on the vessel at Vigor Industrial’s Seattle shipyard Friday. Earlier in the week US Fab, the Vigor company building the ferries, hit a major project milestone on the first vessel, the M/V Tokitae, when the company successfully transferred the 1110-ton superstructure onto the hull. Joined by state transportation officials, community leaders…

Washington State Department of Transportation’s Ferries Division employees devised a plan that saved US$700,000 a year. Crew members of the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Ferries Division won the President’s Transportation Award for water transportation and were recognized for their exemplary service to save fuel on the Edmonds/Kingston ferry route. Beginning in 2010, three WSF employees – Staff Chief Engineer Mark Nitchman, Captain John Tullis and retired Captain Bill Chapple – collaborated to identify a method to save fuel on one of the largest vessels in the system, the 202-car, 2,500-passenger Puyallup, serving the Edmonds/Kingston route.

Delivering value for transportation dollars was among attributes cited in a national award presented today to the Washington State Department of Transportation for building three new ferries under budget. WSDOT won the regional “Under Budget, Large Project” category and was recognized for building three, 64-car, 750-passenger vessels on time and at a savings to taxpayers. WSDOT is now entered into a competition for one of two national awards that carry $10,000 in prizes. This…

SEATTLE – The new class of 144-car Washington state ferries currently under construction will be named after a beloved Washington landmark, the Olympics. The winning name, Olympic, was selected by Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond after a contest among Washington State Department of Transportation employees resulted in more than 130 submissions. “I loved the mountain range theme,” said Hammond. “You can see the Olympic mountains from any ferry route in our system,” said Assistant Secretary David Moseley.

Foss Maritime Co. of Seattle is the apparent low bidder to build a new 20-car Keller Ferry to serve Washington’s only ferry route east of the Cascade Mountains. The Keller ferry crosses Lake Roosevelt (part of the Columbia River) between the towns of Wilbur, Wash., and Keller, Wash., and provides essential transportation to several northeastern Washington counties, including Lincoln, Ferry and Stevens. “We’ve worked long and hard to replace this ferry,” said state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond after three bids were opened today. Foss Maritime was the apparent low bidder at $9,557,178. This is nearly $250,000 under the state’s estimate of $9,803,475.

State invests in expanding ferry fleet, but funding unavailable for more vessels. Construction will begin early next year on a new 144-car ferry. The Ferries Division of the Washington State Department of Transportation today signed a contract change order with Vigor Industrial and its US Fab shipbuilding division to begin construction. “This has been a momentous week for Washington state and our ferry system,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire. Work on this first vessel will create an estimated 200 family-wage jobs at Vigor and 350 jobs at subcontractors, vendors and other shipyards in the region.

Washington State Ferries (WSF) said it will work to implement a majority of 36 recommendations made by an independent panel to improve ferry operations. Changes will come in ferry management, vessel and terminal maintenance, finance, scheduling, labor and customer service, according to an action plan the Ferries Division of the Washington State Department of Transportation submitted to Gov. Chris Gregoire. “We have a world-class ferry system that provides marine highways throughout the Puget Sound region that are vital to our economy and our way of life,” Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said. In March, Gov. Gregoire asked the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) to conduct a review of how well WSF has implemented changes recommended by past system reviews and audits…

Construction of the state’s second Kwa-di Tabil Class (64-car) ferry officially got underway April 19 at Todd Pacific Shipyards (Todd) in Seattle. Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Secretary Paula Hammond and Assistant Secretary for Washington State Ferries (WSF) David Moseley were on hand to help Todd officials commemorate the event. Secretary Hammond struck the first arc weld on the keel signifying the start of construction of the second vessel of the class. “These new ferries represent progress toward a more reliable ferry system, which is critical for the economic prosperity of ferry communities,” said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary.

Washington State Department of Transportation’s Ferries Division (WSF) announced on Oct. 13, that it is awarding a contract to Todd Pacific Shipyards to build two additional 64-car ferries. Todd Shipyards submitted a $114m bid on Thursday, October 8 to build two more 64-car ferries. With the contract award, Todd will begin constructing the second and third ferries in this new class of vessels. WSF awarded a contract to Todd to construct the first 64-car ferry in December 2008. That vessel is under construction and scheduled to go into service on the Port Townsend/Keystone route in late-summer 2010. “This contract award is expected to sustain nearly 400 family wage jobs,” said. Gov. Chris Gregoire.

The Washington State Department of Transportation’s Ferries Division (WSF) took the next step in the process to build new ferries, opening bids this morning, October 8, on a contract to construct up to three new 64-car vessels. Todd Pacific Shipyards submitted the only bid. Bids were solicited for construction and delivery of two 64-car ferries with an optional third vessel. Todd’s proposed bid price for the first two vessels in the contract was $114m. The WSF engineer’s estimate is $109.9m. The timeline for vessel construction is approximately 20 months each for the first two vessels. The decision to exercise the option to add the construction of a third vessel will be made no later than May 31, 2011.

Washington State Department of Transportation Ferries Division (WSF) has sold four 1927-built Steel Electric class vessels to Eco Planet Recycling, Inc. of Chula Vista, Calif. The total combined sale price for all four ferries is $200,000. The Washington State Department of General Administration approved the sale on Wednesday, June 17 followed by completion of the signature process on Thursday, June 18. Receipt of the payment was confirmed late on Friday, June 19. “The Steel Electric class vessels served as unforgettable icons of life in the Pacific Northwest,” said Assistant Secretary for WSF David Moseley. In November 2007, Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond ordered theQuinault, Illahee, Nisqually and Klickitat removed from service due to safety concerns.

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Ferries Division announced on Dec. 1 that it is awarding a contract to Todd Pacific Shipyards to build one 64-auto ferry. Todd Shipyards submitted a $65.5m bid last month to build one 64-auto ferry. With the contract award, the new ferry is on an 18-month construction timeline. "Our economy and the people who depend upon this ferry route will greatly benefit from this contract. This award is expected to generate nearly 200 jobs," said Gov. Chris Gregoire.

The Washington State Department of Transportation announced a realignment of two key programs – Vessel Engineering and Vessel Maintenance. This step is part of Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond’s commitment to improve the organizational structure and performance of the ferry system. The two programs have become one under the direction of Paul Brodeur, the new Ferries Division Director of Vessel Maintenance, Preservation and Engineering. Paul previously served as the Ferries Division Director of Maintenance and Preservation. The realignment will create greater efficiencies in how the Ferries Division maintains the fleet and builds the six new vessels planned for the system.

Washington State Ferries will hold meetings regarding the status of the Steel Electric class vessels and Port Townsend/Keystone ferry service. Legislators and staff from affected ferry communities, Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond and Washington State Ferries Executive Director Mike Anderson will review current ferry status and discuss future vessel and service options. John Boylston, Naval Architect, Legislative Joint Transportation Committee consultants and WSF engineers will present Steel Electric repair and replacement options. Legislators and their staff, shipyard representatives, Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond and Washington State Ferries Executive Director Mike Anderson will likely attend. The meetings will be held in the Rainier Conference Room.