WSF Weekly Report | Able-bodied sailors trained; new Anacortes tollbooths open

||| FROM PATTY RUBSTELLO for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

Able-bodied sailors complete mate training

In addition to hiring new employees, we’re also focused on advancing the careers of our existing crewmembers as we aim to bring long-term stability to our workforce. Our biggest crewing constraint right now is a lack of mates and captains and 50% of employees currently in these positions are retirement eligible in the next five years. To stay ahead of this coming attrition, we started a new able-bodied sailor to mate program last year that allows our crewmembers interested in becoming a licensed deck officer with paid time off to take the necessary courses and exams on work time. On Friday, I congratulated our third group of ABs to graduate from the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies program. This is the first of three steps our employees must complete to become a licensed mate. We’ve also partnered with MITAGS to offer scholarships for a two-year apprenticeship program to anyone interested in becoming a licensed deck officer. The first group begins this month.

With our third class of AB to mate program graduates at MITAGS.

Maritime Washington spotlights Staff Chief Engineer Beth Adams

Puyallup Staff Chief Engineer Beth Adams is our latest employee to be featured in Maritime Washington National Heritage Area’s Women on the Waterfront series. Maritime Washington supports a network that strengthens the maritime community and connects people with the stories, experiences, resources and cultures of our state’s saltwater shores and waterways. Relief Captain Genevieve Fritschen and Anacortes Terminal Supervisor Elena Zachry are also featured in the series.

Puyallup Staff Chief Engineer Beth Adams in front of a well-organized tool bench in the Puyallup engine room. Photo courtesy Maritime Washington.

New Anacortes terminal tollbooths now open

Our customers and employees began using our new Anacortes terminal toll plaza this week. A lighted cedar and steel canopy covers the four new tollbooths, shielding them from the elements. The project, in construction since last summer, replaces the plaza that was 15 years beyond its replacement timeline.

The new toll plaza replaces the old tollbooths, which are visible in the background. Demolition of the more than 50-year-old booths has begun.

New writer-in-residence on our San Juan Islands interisland route

Our San Juan Islands interisland route has a writer-in-residence again, following a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Orcas Island writer and artist Debra Lee Babcock will be writing on board once or twice a week over the next nine months, gathering inspiration while sailing the Salish Sea. Lopez Island resident Iris Graville developed the residency and was the first to serve in this role in 2018. San Juan Island writer and documentary film producer Liz Smith was writer-in-residence from 2019-2020.

Debra Lee Babcock

SR 305 Agate Pass Bridge delays Feb. 20-23

An early heads up if you use the State Route 305 Agate Pass Bridge to access our Seattle/Bainbridge route! On Tuesday, Feb. 20, through Friday, Feb. 23, the bridge will be reduced to one alternating lane of traffic from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, for annual bridge cleaning work. Travelers can expect 30-minute delays, if not more. Consider traveling early or late in the day or reschedule discretionary trips. Other alternatives include taking the Bremerton or Kingston ferries.

One-way traffic will alternate across SR 305 Agate Pass Bridge during daytime bridge cleaning work Feb. 20-23.

Customer kudos

“RAVE to Washington State Ferries and staff for serving the hundreds of Seahawks fans returning from downtown the other evening. The new terminal was able to accommodate the crowds, and we were greeted by prepared and cheerful ferry employees. What a fine ending to a great day of football.”

-Customer in The Seattle Times, Nov. 20, 2023