Lake Washington Ship Canal News

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…

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.

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.

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.