Lake Washington News

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA) with $650,000 to reduce diesel emissions from engines on up to eight vessels operating in the Puget Sound region. The project will provide vessel owners with incentives to scrap and replace 12-19 old Tier 0 engines with newer, more-efficient and lower-emission Tier 3 engines on six to eight harbor vessels operating in Puget Sound, Lake Union and Lake Washington. Combined with the mandatory match of $891,000, the total project cost is $1,541,000.

A 50-year-old retired Washington State passenger ferry will get a refit, and with it another life as a floating entertainment space. Washington State Ferries (WSF) has sold its smallest retired ferry, Hiyu, for $150,000 to Menagerie Inc., who plans to repurpose the vessel as a floating entertainment venue. “We make every effort to keep our retired ferries operational, instead of being sold for scrap,” said WSF Chief of Staff Elizabeth Kosa. At 162-feet-long, the ferry is considered to be the among "cutest and most cherished" in Washington history…

Coast Guard, Seattle Police Department, Seattle Fire Department, King County Sheriff’s Office and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel rescued a woman after she sustained a leg injury after reportedly being struck by a boat propeller on Lake Washington, Sunday afternoon. Seattle Fire Department personnel aboard a Seattle Police Department boat safely transported the 19-year-old woman to waiting EMS who took her to Harborview Medical Center. "Due to the excellent working relationships the Coast Guard has with our partner agencies in the Seattle area, we executed the rescue using great teamwork and it was without hesitation," said Chief Petty Officer Jeff Wildes from Coast Guard Station Seattle.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Washington State Department of Ecology continue to oversee the cleanup and investigate the cause of an oil spill that appeared earlier this week in the Ballard Mill Marina, on Salmon Bay, along the Lake Washington Ship Canal. The Coast Guard and Ecology received reports Monday morning of oil, accompanied by strong petroleum odors in the waters. No one has come forward to take responsibility for the spill, and the Coast Guard has utilized the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to hire Global Diving and Salvage to conduct the cleanup. The Coast Guard and Ecology have established a unified command to plan and oversee cleanup work.

Another six State Route 520 bridge pontoons began floating out of the Aberdeen casting basin late Tuesday night, April 15, marking completion of the fourth of six cycles of pontoons being built in Grays Harbor. “With the fourth cycle complete, we’ve reached another important milestone for a new SR 520 floating bridge,” said Julie Meredith, SR 520 program director for the Washington State Department of Transportation. “We’re now two-thirds of the way done with all pontoon construction. The fourth cycle of pontoon construction included four longitudinal pontoons and two supplemental stability pontoons. The 360-foot-long longitudinal pontoons will form the backbone of the new bridge, while the smaller, supplemental pontoons provide additional stability and flotation.

The King County Ferry District, whose ferries link the communities that ring Lake Washington and Puget Sound, has contracted with Bellingham-based All American Marine to design and build two new 'water taxis' to replace its pair of 25 year-old leased vessels. The operators explain that the new vessels will each carry 250 passengers, 78 more than the vessels they will replace. That added capacity means more passengers will be able to use the water taxis during the busiest weekday commute periods.

Sea Tow Services International, Inc., a leading professional marine assistance provider in the USA, says that the number of stations transmitting its free Automated Radio Check service in coastal and inland boating areas across the U.S. has risen to over 130 locations. Claimed to be the first and only service of its kind, Sea Tow continues to seek new host stations in its mission to expand this vital boating safety service. Automated Radio Check, which is provided by Sea Tow in association with MariTEL, lets boaters quickly and easily check that their vessel’s VHF radio is working.

Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) welcomed two new additions to its Seattle team: Engineer Kurt Jankowski and Designer Justin Jones. Kurt Jankowski comes to EBDG with broad education in naval architecture and marine engineering in addition to experience in boat and ship construction. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a BSE in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and earned his MSE in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in April 2013.

Kvichak Marine Industries of Seattle, WA was a recipient of an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) small shipyard grant awarded in August 2009. The grant funded much of the major equipment associated with the company’s new metal processing facility, Flashmark Tech, which opened earlier this year. The grant will also fund the purchase of a new crane for their Seattle headquarters. The crane is made by North Pacific Crane with a capacity of 35,000 pounds. The boom length is 31 feet with a pedestal height of 15 feet.

Kvichak Marine Industries, of Seattle, Wash. was a recipient of an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) small shipyard grant awarded in August 2009. The grant funded much of the major equipment associated with the Company’s new metal processing facility, Flashmark Tech, which opened earlier this year. Another benefit of this grant is a new crane for their headquarters in Seattle, Wash. The crane is made by North Pacific Crane with a capacity of 35,000 pounds. The boom length is 31 ft with a pedestal height of 15 ft.

Black Ball Ferry Line is purchasing the business operations of the Victoria Express from Victoria Rapid Transit in a deal announced today by both companies. Terms of the sale were not released. The Harmon family formed Victoria Rapid Transit in 1990, and over the past two decades grew the ferry business to include service to Victoria, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island and Port Angeles. The ferry has also offered numerous private charters for individuals and organizations throughout the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Puget Sound, as far south as Westport and even into Lake Washington. “The Harmon family has built a great company and there is a lot of goodwill among their customer base,” said Black Ball Ferry Line president Ryan Burles.

Over their lifetime, fishing vessels are arguably the most robustly constructed maritime structures around, due to their continuous operation in the most arduous of conditions. Marco Shipyard in Seattle — founded in 1953 — built its business and reputation in the fishing industry, producing boats for operation around the globe. In fact, Peter G. Schmidt, company founder and president, was an innovator in the use of steel construction for the fishing vessel market, which previously consisted mostly of wooden boats. "He wanted to bring small boatbuilding into the modern world," said Bob McMahon, vice president. While the market for building new fishing vessels is a far cry from 10 years ago…

U.S. public ports applauded passage on of H.R. 1480 by the U.S. House of Representatives to enact Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) legislation. WRDA legislation, among other things, authorizes deepening and modification of federal navigation projects at the nation's ports. Improving navigation infrastructure generates significant economic returns at the local, regional and national levels. The Senate also passed its version of WRDA, S. 507. Major port projects in WRDA'99 include those along the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington; at the ports of Baltimore; Oakland; Savannah and Brunswick, GA; Jacksonville and Tampa. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey also has a project modification in the bill. Project details are listed below.

In 2004, Jensen Maritime Consultants (JMC) partnered with the City of Seattle’s Fire Department to develop two vessels that will significantly upgrade the City’s marine fire fighting ability, as well as provide a mobile marine command vessel for operations in all manner of catastrophes, including bio-terrorist incidents. Seattle is a city that is almost surrounded by water – built between Elliot Bay, Lake Washington and Lake Union, it has innumerable rivers cutting through it, with more than 190 miles of navigable coastline. However, any vessels going from the salt water side of Puget Sound to the fresh water side of Lake Washington must travel through the Chittenden Locks.

The Port of Seattle announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will moor vessels in Seattle this winter. The agency announced that its ships will be docked at the Port of Seattle's Terminal 30 facility, which is leased and operated by Cruise Terminals of America. The vessels will moor at the facility from November through March of 2008. NOAA's Marine Operations Center - Pacific has been located on Fairview Avenue East on the shore of Lake Union since 1963. In July of 2006, two piers on the property were damaged in a fire. Since that time, the federal research agency has moored its four vessels at Sand Point, on Lake Washington, and at Federal Center South on the East Duwamish Waterway.

The Maritime Administration (MarAd) has approved three vessels sale and transfer under section 9 of the Shipping Act, of 1916, as amended. MarAd has given approval to Industrial Resources, Inc., of Clear Lake, Washington to sale the fishing vessel MOMMA, to Front Street Management LLC of Vancouver, Washington and transfer of said Vessel to Panamanian registry and flag. The fishing vessel was built in 1945. MarAd has given approval to Maersk Lines, Limited, of Norfolk, Va., to sell the container RoRo’s MAERSK ALASKA and MAERSK ARIZONA, to Ignazio Messina and C.S.P.A. of Genoa, Italy and transfer of said Vessels to Italian registry and flag. Both container ships were built in 1976.

PacFish Shipyard acquired shipyard marine equipment at the MARCO Shipyard auction on the Lake Washington Ship Canal, including a Wheelabrator sandblast cabinet with 6-ft. rotary table, equipped with dust collector and re-useable shotblast for zero discharge to the environment. Big Bertha, MARCO’s classic 150-ton Denison hydraulic steel press, was one item that generated bidding action from a shipyard in Anacortes. Shipyard General Manager Doug Dixon was determined to keep Big Bertha on the ship canal to maintain the heavy ship repair capability in Seattle’s maritime business community. MARCO’s heavy roller for angle and pipe bending was another piece of shipyard antiquity acquired by PacFish that will remain in the cluster of Seattle maritime businesses.

The last of the Seawolf-class submarines, USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23), arrived at its new home of Naval Base Kitsap Nov. 9 from Groton, Conn., to the delight of more than 300 family members and Navy personnel waiting pierside. Carter replaced USS Parche (SSN 683), which was decommissioned in October 2004. “They’re finally here,” said the wife of Capt. Robert Kelso, commanding officer. “We’ve been waiting for four months, so this is pretty exciting. Not only were families and fellow Sailors on hand, but a band from the Bear Creek School played Navy songs as the crowd eagerly awaited the boat’s arrival, and members of the Lake Washington Navy League were there to welcome the crew home. Clowns were there as well to entertain the children inside the newly renovated building on the pier.

Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Whidbey Island and Seattle-based American West Steamboat Company, owned by Henry Hillman, Jr., CEO of Oregon Rail Corp., have launched the newly constructed overnight sternwheeler cruise ship Empress of the North. Beginning at 5:00am on Monday, June 16, 2003, the 360-foot sternwheeler was transferred on a specially designed rail system into Holmes Harbor, where it launched at high tide at approximately 8:45pm. With the launch open to the public, an estimated 5,000 people showed up for the event. Designed by Seattle naval architects, Guido Perla & Associates, construction of the Empress of the North began at Nichols Brothers’ shipyard in April, 2002.