Washington Sells Its Oldest Ferry
Evergreen State (Photo: WSF)
Evergreen State in 1954 (Photo: WSF)
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. “She served our customers well for six decades, but it is important that she is sold so we can free up dock space and focus maintenance on our current fleet.”
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.
The 310-foot-lont ferry has carried tens of thousands of passengers and vehicles in Washington State on several routes including Seattle/Bainbridge and the San Juan Islands Interisland routes, prior to its decommissioning in 2016.
Plans are in place to move the Evergreen State from WSF’s Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility on Bainbridge Island to a temporary Puget Sound moorage in March. The new owner will then tow the vessel from the Pacific Northwest to Grenada, when the weather improves, likely in early summer.
The Evergreen State is one of two state ferries put up for sale in 2016 and purchased in 2017. The WSF ferry Hiyu, was sold in February to a local business owner who intends to use the vessel as a floating entertainment venue on Lake Union.
Class: Evergreen State
Type: Auto/Passenger Ferry
Year Built/Re-built: 1954/1988
City Built: Seattle
Length: 310'
Beam: 73'
Draft: 15' 10"
Max Passengers: 854
Max Vehicles: 87
Tall Deck Space: 30
Auto Deck Clearance: 13' 7"
Displacement: 2,350 long tons
Propulsion: Diesel-Electric (AC)
Engines: 2
Horsepower: 2,500
Speed: 13 knots
