Over at WSF

What’s that old saying? The more things change, the more they stay the same? WSF did the same thing several years ago when tendering the bids for the new hybrid electric ferries. This led to delays and a change in the law to bid the contract out nationwide. Well, the good news is, we FINALLY are out to bid. WSF is hoping multiple yards bid so we can get two boats by 2028. That would be great. The problem is, we still need five more boats beyond the five going out to bid, because with retirements, by the time the last of the new boats is on the water, we’ll still be at 21 vessels, right where we are now.

Incidentally, that $57,000.00 in 1931 translates to $1,175,805.00 in 2024 dollars.

Here’s a look at the profile of the new boats, which have enough changes to them to make them a class of their own. The biggest difference is the shelter deck below the wheelhouses has been excised and there probably won’t be access to the upper deck, like on the Issaquahs. At 405 feet in length, they’re 35 short of a Jumbo, 22 feet longer than a Super and 43 feet longer than the Olympics. This is going to give them in theory, a carrying capacity of 164(ish) cars, though that’ll probably vary by load, more or less depending on trucks, etc.

I’ve had several people email me and ask me what’s going on with the Evergreen State. The short answer is…well, nothing.

She was moved from her moorage in Fairhaven to the opposite side of Bellingham Bay, near the old GP paper mill site. There is no work going on with her now, nor does their appear to have been any done in the past. The way she is currently moored, there’s no way to get on and off the boat, so it seems unlikely anything is going to be done in the near future, either. Stay tuned as they say.

Also, if you’re thinking about a career with WSF, check this out. You could get a fully paid scholarship for it.

Housekeeping Issues

I have rearranged the menu on the splash page. The pages for vessels other than Black Ball/WSF have been moved to the end of the menu, starting with Alaska. Per a suggestion from a reader, I’ve added a page for Kitsap Transit’s fast ferry fleet–and I need photos. If you’d like your photo of any of the boats (save the Rich Passage I, I’ve got one of it) in the Kitsap Transit fleet to appear on the page, feel free to email them to me and I’ll add them. This included the Port Orchard foot ferries, too. I’ve added the namesake ferry when I’ve had a historic shot available for reference.

Meanwhile, up in Alaska

Backpacker magazine begins its article with the following sentence: “The Alaska Ferry System is creaky and unreliable…” but spends the rest of the article extolling the virtues of the system and its place as a tourism draw–something that frankly the State of Alaska seems to be dropping the ball on.

Meanwhile, over Memorial Day weekend in Haines, travelers to Beerfest, an annual event that attracts some 1500 people, were facing having their cars being stranded for weeks when the 1974-built LeConte broke down. Happily, the vessel was repaired and went back into service on Tuesday, the 28th.

It isn’t just WSF, believe me

Just two days ago (as of this writing) the Vineyard Gazette ran a story with the headline, “Steamship Authority Crew Shortages Make Waves.” It is no exaggeration to say that there is a world-wide shortage of workers in the maritime industry–something, incidentally, that was predicted two decades ago and seemingly no one did anything about.

Read the story and comments for the same complaints, conspiracy theories and other stuff you can read about locally. Nice to know we’re not alone.

Our Neighbors to the North

I can’t remember if I posted links to this yet or not, but Damen Shipyard of the Netherlands is building the company’s new ferries. They’ve also just secured a $75 million dollar federal loan to have them built. Six of them no less. They’ll be all electric, not a hybrid.

If you’re wondering why the cost difference between these six vessels and WSF’s five–first, they’re being built overseas. That’s not an option for WSF due to the Jones Act. Second, these vessels are significantly smaller, carrying only 39 cars and 390 passengers. They’re being designed for “short range services” on the B.C. Coast.

Got to hand it to Damen–their rendering of the ferry looks like the real thing!

Meanwhile, the “private” corporation has been told to “improve its relations with ferry dependent communities” as it seems said relations have taken a nosedive the last two years.

Seems emotions got a bit high in a community meeting two years back, so much so that in-person meetings were shut down. Those are now being restarted.

Until next time…