||| FROM ALEX MACLEOD |||
I don’t know about you, but it sure seems like ferry service in the islands just keeps getting worse. That’s also the assessment of Jim Corenman, the longtime chair of the county’s Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC), who summarized it in a note to me recently “as bad as I’ve ever seen it and almost certain to get worse.”
This affects almost everyone in the county: people trying to get to medical appointments, to work (and home); truckers getting food and other supplies to island stores; friends hoping to visit friends or events on other islands and, in a couple of weeks, at least three dozen school kids traveling for school in Friday Harbor first thing in the morning and home in the evening.
All are relying on a ferry built when Dwight Eisenhower was president and Fidel Castro took charge in Cuba, and which, understandably, has had significant, frequent mechanical problems putting it out-of-service for long periods, or had runs cancelled because of staffing problems. On top of that, mainline service between Anacortes and the islands has been spotty at best, with ferries routinely running an hour or two (or more) late. In just the past week, the Chelan was out of service with mechanical trouble for the better part of three days and the Yakima missed runs for the same reason.
As Jim says, bad as this has been, it’s almost certain to get worse. So why isn’t the County Council talking about it?
The council held a special meeting last Friday to discuss the recent sinking of the fishing boat off San Juan Island and the troubled clean-up effort. It was a smart thing to do: learn from this experience while it was fresh and see what might be improved to deal with future water-pollution problems.
Important as that was, it pales by comparison to the direct impact on county residents of delayed and missing ferry service, especially the risks of continued troubles with the Tillikum, our 63-year-old inter-island boat, especially when school resumes. It’s one thing for kids to miss school because the morning ferry is out of service, but what happens when they’re in Friday Harbor in the evening and there’s no service? And what about the. contractors, plumbers, electricians and other workers — including some
county staff — who can’t get to or from their homes and jobs?
I’ve asked the FAC chair several times to call on the council to have a special meeting devoted solely to ferries. He’s been reluctant. “Do urgent meetings make sense when we don’t have any quick fixes?” he asks.
Well, yes. There are values. It would send a clear signal to WSF that San Juan County’s ferry needs are unique in the system, that unacceptable risks to inter-island travel loom because of the sad state of the Tillikum and that something needs to be done now before the dark, cold, wet, windy days of winter settle in.
This summer, when the Tillikum has gone out of service, there has been little to no quick response from WSF. Shouldn’t WSF have a plan to automatically shift all mainline boats to all-stops to get people from island to island until the inter island service is restored? It’s not a perfect solution but nothing even approaching perfect is available. Mainline boats already are running way off schedule, so why not?
Or why not ask WSF to get a more reliable boat than the Tillikum for our inter-island service and put the Tillikum on a south-sound route where its problems wouldn’t result in school kids being stuck after school in Friday Harbor, away from their homes?
The impacts of ferry service on island residents, businesses, schools and the economy are far too substantial for the council to remain silent and uninvolved. As a one-time chair of the FAC, I experienced how little WSF paid attention to the committee, and that, too, has only gotten worse. Unless our elected representatives pay attention, WSF won’t.
So, council, how about holding a special meeting later this week, or next, devoted solely to ferries. Give your constituents and the FAC a chance to be heard. Get WSF’s attention. Address this situation now, before it becomes a worse problem. It’s past time to sound the alarm.
Just wondering, but I do not hear anything from Governor Inslee. What action is he taking? Is he dialed in or taking cover?
Maybe give Inslee some input if WSF does not listen to the Advisory Commitee.
As a former “Seattle Times” Managing Editor, Alex, why don’t you submit an opinion piece to that newspaper? THAT would likely get Governor Inslee’s attention. With all due respect, a guest column in “the Orcasonian” will not. I speak from experience.
Maybe the WSF should ask if any of the 121 fired (un-jabbed) crew members would like to come back to work so runs don’t have to be cancelled for lack of crew? Nah, never going to happen.
Fully agree WSF service is getting worse in the San Juans routes, not better. And San Juan routes are given the highest priority by WSF during their “Covid Recovery” plan, so imagine what other WSF routes are experiencing with much more reduced service than in the San Juans. WSFs get well plan is HOPEFULLY to have service fully restored by mid summer 2023 with the possible exception of the Anacortes to Sidney route. This has been explained in the San Juan Ferry advisor committee public meetings.
The Tillikum is the oldest and last Evergreen State class ferry in the fleet … built in 1959, but often ignored by nearly everyone is it was fully overhauled in 1990 with millions of dollars of work and upgrades. It’s a diesel electric boat … which is what the to be built new ferries are planned to be. Of course, newer and much different technology in there planned new boats. It’s also the slowest ferry in the fleet at 15 kts, and that’s fine for the inter island route, but doesn’t work for some other WSF routes
One of the crewing problems of the Tillikum is that it’s based in Friday Harbor, so the early morning crew has to be on San Juan Island. If short a crew member, it’s a challenge getting a qualified replacement, especially if it’s an engine room oiler or engineer. Why? Because the four ferries serving the San Juans are all different classes, and the engine room and bridge personnel have to be qualified in each class of vessel.
WSF also has to deal with 12 unions and has 14 labor contracts (includes the admin and maintenance facility). Most (if not all) of the ferry operational crews are seniority based, and that adds a delay complexity when dispatchers need to find replacement crew members.
One additional complexity … diesel fuel for the Tillikim is to be provided by contract to Friday Harbor. That contractor has failed to do that some of this summer, claiming truck driver labor shortage. WSF has reportedly reached an agreement to restore those deliveries. That fuel issue has caused some Tillikum cancellations and reschedules.
Holding a County Council meeting is isn’t going to hurt, but it’s not going to solve anything. The problems are known, and the County Council can’t fix any of them. Neither can Governor Inslee, unless the case can be made for replacing the ferry director and/or management, and the public doesn’t know enough of ferry management and whether it’s doing its best with an very complex set of problems or is failing in leadership.
I feel that I have been accepting of the challenges faced by the brave and committed ferry workers, but my patience has worn out. Our medical provider’s have now started requiring an overnight stay in Friday Harbor or Anacortes prior to appointments to ensure their time is well used. I have no quarrel with the requirement, but how has our ferry system become so unreliable that I need to get hotel rooms for medical service??? I am fortunate that i can afford this, but many are not. Dramatic change is needed and it is urgent!
Read all comments above. I concur in spades!!!!! in addition, I know we need no reminder that the San Juan routes are the ONLY routes within the ferry system that do not have alternate routes by highway. If we don’t have a ferry, we don’t go.
Sigh.
Mr. Dashiell,
I agree with you that Gov. Inslee does not have the expertise to fix the ferry problems. But he has the power to put people in place that do know how to run a ferry system. He is the governor of this state and the WSF is a state organization. He has been in office for a number of terms now. WSF has steadily declined under his leadership.
Why is he not responsible? Why is he not all over this issue?
Robert Dashiell makes a very cogent point about the WSF when he states: “… it’s doing its best with an very complex set of problems or is failing in leadership.” I suggest the latter is the situation. Inslee should sack whoever is in charge of the WSF clown show and get the ferries running on time. It isn’t rocket science; Amazon can get pretty much anything on earth delivered in two days to a little island in the middle of the Salish Sea. Why can’t the damn ferry system do it’s job?
Tom Owens: I think your assumption is that there exists a human being on this planet that would take the job and could actually make changes given the number of unions and the seniority system written into union contracts?
Start with pay raises this year. State Patrol, the ferries Department of Transportation twin in the Washington State financial world, got a 10% pay raise. Ferry workers got 3.5%. Probably not too happy with that given annual inflation is about 9%.
I’s summer, so ferry workers want their holidays like everyone else. If a ferry is cancelled (often crew shortage), the scheduled workers still get paid (as they logically should) and can opt to work on the boat or go home (at least that is what has been said in ferry meetings) … dedicated employees would not take advantage of that, but it’s not a real incentive to show up if, for example, you are possibly upset about the pay raise.
I think boat staffing should be more like the Navy … an assigned crew and one extra at least deck qualified person for each route and shift rather than using a seniority crewing system. But good luck getting that idea even trial basis tested.
Washington State taxpayers voted extra taxes years ago to have the state auditor do performance audits. Auditors can talk to people and investigate things that are not visible to the general public or elected officials. That’s no quick fix (there isn’t one anyway), and maybe they could come up with some workable suggestions/solutions to move the needle at least in the right direction.
Rigjt, the problems are there. No doubt about it.
Someone need to accept responsibility. Why not the guy in cbsrge of the state? Inslee had been in charge for years.
I wonder if BC ferries is also in this mess. Don’t think they are. Ferry systems can be run effectively.
Who is in charge here?
How about opening up the routes to private ferry companies? Charge a fee for use of WSF facilities and encourage the development of alternative terminals. Yes, the logistics would be complex but every major airport in the world handles far greater numbers of craft every day. The government monopoly on the ferry routes means that WE have no backup system at all.
This also brings up the issue of resiliency in the face of earthquake, tsunami and rising sea levels. We’ve seen that all it takes is a small mechanical error to damage a terminal to the point that it is unusable for extended lengths of time. Remember the Elwha ramming the dock in ’99? Now imagine that it was tsunami damage at the Anacortes terminal… The entire county could essentially be isolated for months.
The lack of resiliency in the system that we are seeing over and over again, especially this summer, is directly tied to the fact that WSF has always gone for larger (and more expensive) boats. We wouldn’t have hundreds of people stranded due to one engineer not showing up for work if there were a much larger fleet of much smaller boats, either WSF or private or a combination.
Inadequate staffing is CLEARLY a management issue. All it takes is making the training and certification of ferry workers a priority. Mandating vaccinations was obviously going to push a few people out and replacements should have been undergoing certification BEFORE the mandate was enforced. The whole point of management is to MANAGE. Blaming problems on the unions or old boats is disingenuous.
Behind much of these problems is the law that says all ferry boats must be built in WA. Which means that federal transportation money cannot be used to fund ferry construction. AND it means that all the boats wind up being built by the only shipyard in WA that has the capacity and interest in bidding – Vigor Shipyards (Todd Shipyards). That one company profits from this absurd law at the expense of every taxpayer in the state. THIS is what Inslee should be seeking to change, along with the management at WSF.
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/absence-of-1-crewmember-cancels-bc-ferries-sailings-mechanical-issue-on-other-route-1.6040931
Absence of 1 crewmember cancels BC Ferries sailings; mechanical issue on other route
Updated Aug. 24, 2022 6:04 p.m. PDT
Published Aug. 24, 2022 3:17 p.m. PDT
The absence of a single crewmember prompted the cancellation of some BC Ferries sailings Wednesday, while others were cancelled due to mechanical issues.
The company said the Queen of Cowichan will no longer be leaving Departure Bay (Nanaimo) for Horseshoe Bay (West Vancouver) at 3:55 p.m.
The corresponding sailing back to Vancouver Island at 6:15 p.m. is also cancelled.
BC Ferries warned passengers about a “high probability of cancelling” those two trips a couple of hours before the Nanaimo departure was scheduled. Those cancellations were confirmed less than an hour later.
Perhaps WSF’s extensive use of seasonal people, rather than full time employees, might have something to do with the operational problems…
Perhaps WSF’s extensive use of seasonal people, rather than full time employees, might have something to do with their operational problems…
I wonder ic the two cancellations sighted for B C ferries represents 45% (WSF record for Anacortes/San Juans) of their sailings or is this an example of selective reporting?
Question: The section of WA state code titled “Preferential Loading” (WAC 468-300-700) is cited as the reason why preferential reservations for non-leisure traffic would not be legal. But at first glance it seems that the WAC ‘Preferential loading’ is not the same as a preferential reservation system. Preferential loading for all the current exemptions (medical emergencies, live stock, etc) means they are loaded first, no matter what: if all priority vehicles filled the boat, then nobody with a reservation would get on. — A preferential reservation system, on the other hand, does not involve preferential *loading* of preferential reservation holders: vehicles with and without preferential reservations are loaded without any preference for either, in a random order based on “first come first loaded”. Neither would preferential reservations eliminate the current priority loading – priority loading for exemptions would still occur before preferential reservations are loaded.
Could a reservation system be designed that gives residents a short window of opportunity at the start of each reservation period? Could it not be argued that the current design of the reservation system does not meet its intent for all customers (section 4 of WAC 468-300-700) when non-leisure customers are burdened with excessive costs for essential needs and commerce?
Even if it can’t be argued that there is no distinction between loading and reserving, WSF management is free “to add, delete, or modify portions of these regulations” (Section 6) and add more exemptions for San Juan routes, for example anyone with proof a medical or vet appointment. Perhaps this could be considered just as critical as transporting a pig?
I’m curious how the Attorney General staff justifies blurring the distinction between loading and reservation or why additional exemptions for essential needs couldn’t be added. Anyone know?