||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE STANDARD |||
When Washington State Ferries took its Jumbo Mark II vessel, the Wenatchee, out of service last September to convert it from diesel to hybrid-electric power, the plan was for the boat to be back in action sometime around late summer this year.
The agency now says it anticipates the project will take until summer 2025 to complete.
“There are no issues with the technology itself, but as is common with major vessel retrofits, we have faced some challenges in working this new technology into the existing vessel,” Matt von Ruden, administrator for Ferries’ electrification program, said in a statement last week.
He added that the agency and the shipbuilder completing the project, Vigor, “have largely tackled” the issues that created difficulties.
There will be a higher cost, Suanne Pelley, a spokesperson for the agency told the Standard on Friday. “Just time alone equals money,” she said, adding that Washington State Ferries is still evaluating what those costs will be with Vigor. “It’s definitely a back-and-forth conversation.”
The agency and Vigor agreed to a $100 million contract to convert the Wenatchee and another vessel, the Tacoma, to hybrid-electric power. There’s also an option to proceed with another $50 million conversion of a third boat, the Puyallup.
The three ferries were built in the late 1990s, each is about 460 feet long and can carry 202 cars and 2,499 people. Jumbo Mark II vessels are the largest vessels that Washington State Ferries operates.
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