WSF Ferry Wenatchee Suffers Electrical Issue
Sea trials on the Washington State Ferries (WSF) ferry Wenatchee (2,500 passengers, 200 vehicles) got off to a bad start last week, as WSF reports "investigation by our technicians and engine crew discovered last week the control system communication wires were creating intermittent instability which caused the drive motors to go offline."
Invariably, problems crop up during most every vessel's shakedown, and WSF said "While unexpected, issues like this are a normal part of a vessel commissioning which involves rigorous inspection, maintenance and continuous testing of equipment and systems."
Wenatchee came back into service on the Seattle to Bainbridge run across Elliott Bay, following conversion to hybrid electric propulsion at the Vigor Marine yard in Seattle. Initially, WSF had contracted with the yard to also convert two sister vessels TACOMA and PUYALLUP, however major delays and cost over-runs led to a pause on conversion of the other boats, as Barry Parker reports in the September 2025 edition of Marine News. In the Wenatchee conversion, two of four diesel generators were removed, and energy storage and charging equipment was then installed, along with new switching and wiring infrastructure.