Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility News

Washington State Ferries (WSF) has sold its oldest ferry, Evergreen State, for $300,000 to Jones Broadcasting, LLC., who plans to use the 63-year-old vessel for ferry service in the protected waters of the southern Caribbean. “The Evergreen State is a special ferry. It was the first vessel custom built for Washington State Ferries in 1954,” said Ferries Chief of Staff Elizabeth Kosa. The first of the three Evergreen State class auto/passenger ferries, the 87-car, 854-passenger Evergreen State features surplus drive motors from World War II.

"As I close out my first week as Assistant Secretary, I am looking forward to the days ahead serving the customers and employees of our nation’s largest ferry system. In the near term, my biggest priority will be maintaining our 99 percent service reliability. During my first 30 days I will be spending the majority of my time traveling around the system and meeting with employees, labor partners and shipyard contractors to become familiar with the daily workings of WSF. This week has already been busy. I had a safety briefing and overview of our security and emergency response facilities at WSF Headquarters and toured the Operations Center.

Interim Assistant Secretary WSDOT/Ferries Division, Capt. George A. Capacci, says that ongoing investigations suggest that damage to the ferry's propulsion system following a 29, July disabling breakdown may be more extensive than previously thought. "This week, WSF engineers, alongside vendor technicians from Siemens Global, Inc., continued to take part in an ongoing and thorough investigation into what went wrong in the Tacoma’s loss of propulsion power on July 29. Siemens believes the damage is more extensive than the initial review revealed. For this reason, Siemens will require additional time to complete their investigation and prepare a recommended repair plan. "This has been a challenging week for Washington State Ferries and the customers we serve.

A three-month safety investigation recently concluded that human error was responsible for the failure of an electric drive motor that removed the 188-car ferry Walla Walla from service. According to the final report, investigators determined the motor failure was avoidable and resulted from mistakes made by Washington State Ferries personnel. The motor failure occurred Nov. 4, 2012 when the Walla Walla was undergoing routine annual maintenance at Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility on Bainbridge Island. •    Communication between engine crew and maintenance staff was insufficient.

Third 64-car ferry joins state fleet three months ahead of schedule. There must be something magic about the number three. Today, Vigor Industrial and its U.S. Fab shipbuilding division delivered the third of three new Washington state ferries, the 64-car Kennewick, three months ahead of schedule. “This is a major milestone in our vessel replacement program,” said Assistant Secretary David Moseley. “The Kwa-di Tabil class is now complete. The Kwa-di Tabil construction supported more than 360 family-wage jobs during the past two years at Seattle’s Harbor Island shipyard…

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…

Repairs to the 90-car Sealth continue after damage to the vessel’s engine output shaft was discovered on Tuesday, Jan. 5. Engineers estimate that the vessel will be ready to return to service by the end of the week of Jan. 11, after repairs and sea trials are completed. The Sealth was brought to WSF’s Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility on Bainbridge Island last Wednesday, Jan. 6, and engineers determined that extensive repairs would be required. WSF sent its only backup vessel, the 34-car Hiyu, to serve as the inter-island vessel in the San Juans beginning Thursday, Jan. The 87-car Evergreen State is serving in place of the Sealth in the mornings.

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.

On Friday, Jan. 16, the Washington State Department of Transportation Ferries Division (WSF) closed the sale of the passenger-only fast ferries Chinook and Snohomish to the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District of Larkspur, California. The total sale price for the two vessels was $4m. In 2006, the Washington State Legislature voted to end state funding for passenger-only ferries. In 2007 the Legislature directed WSF to conduct the sale process of the Chinook and Snohomish and deposit the sale proceeds into a passenger ferry account. The proceeds from the sale will be used to help fund county-run passenger-only ferry service. The Chinook and Snohomish were built in the late 1990’s and provided passenger-only service between Seattle and Bremerton from 1998 to 2003.

The 188-car returned to service on the Edmonds/Kingston ferry route on Oct. 17. The joined the 188-car , returning the route to its usual vehicle capacity. The 144-car Hyak has been on the route since Oct. 7 while the was out for necessary repairs. The ’s return will free the Hyak to return to the Seattle/Bremerton route, so the 144-car Kaleetan can go into WSDOT’s Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility for its required annual inspection. WSDOT Ferries Division removed the from service on Monday, Oct.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Ferries Division will move the 90-car ferry Sealth this afternoon, Wednesday, August 6, to Anacortes to replace the 144-car Elwha while necessary repairs are made to the Elwha’s propulsion system. The Sealth has been on stand-by at the Ferries Division’s Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility. The Sealth is expected to arrive in Anacortes in time to make the scheduled 6:50 p.m. sailing to Lopez and . At 8:00 a.m., Aug. 6, the Elwha temporarily lost steering due to a problem with the propulsion control system. The vessel resumed use of the propulsion system on one end and was able to make it to Anacortes under its own power. The Elwha is out of service until later this week while repairs to the propulsion control cooling system are made.

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 (WSF) is performing additional hull inspections on the 80-year-old Steel Electric Class vessels, which will temporarily affect the San Juan inter-island run. The 59-car Illahee has temporarily been removed from service awaiting the additional inspection, so the 87-car Evergreen State has taken its place serving the San Juan inter-island route. Starting July 15, the 34-car Hiyu will operate on the inter-island route for 1 week while the Evergreen State is at the ferry system’s Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility for its required, annual inspection. Two Steel Electric Class vessels will continue to operate on the Port Townsend – Keystone route. “We recognize that a ferry with less auto capacity inconveniences our customers.