WSF weekly report includes a performance award for The Yakima

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

Behind-the-scenes staff keeping our system running and safe during pandemic 

Anytime you ride a ferry, you see our vessel crews and terminal staff. But riders often don’t see our maintenance employees tasked with keeping our vessels and facilities in safe, working order. It’s no easy feat, and one that has become even more challenging because of COVID-19. Kudos to my colleagues at Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility for keeping our system running during this pandemic! Read about some of their adjustments and accomplishments of the past year in a recent WSDOT blog post.

Our Eagle Harbor staff built and installed customized
Plexiglas sneeze guards on all our terminal toll booths last spring in the early days of the pandemic.

Fleet Achievement and Vessel Reliability Awards

Each year, our port engineers honor the vessel engine crews and Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility personnel who achieve the highest level of fleet reliability. The engine crews of Yakima received our 2020 Fleet Achievement Award for scoring in five performance categories: Trip cancellations, assigned days, trip count, sailing hours and nautical miles sailed.

Last year, the 53-year-old Yakima made 6,118 trips, ran for 3,519 sailing hours in operation,
traveled 48,415 nautical miles and did not miss a trip due to mechanical failure.

A ferry that reaches 100-percent mechanical reliability in a calendar year, which is no lost trips due to mechanical failure, receives a Vessel Reliability Award. In 2020, seven boats achieved this goal: Chimacum, Kennewick, Suquamish, Tokitae, Walla Walla, Wenatchee and Yakima.

Congratulations to all the engine crews and the employees at our Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility for contributing immensely to the reliability of these vessels! It takes a lot of hard work to keep a ferry system running, especially when more than half our fleet is 38 years old or older and we have just one funded service relief vessel.

Chimacum crew saves rider having medical emergency

Our crew aboard Chimacum helped save a rider in severe distress during a Bremerton to Seattle sailing last week. The crew provided medical assistance and notified emergency services who met the victim upon docking and transferred her to an ambulance. Safety is our number one priority, and all our highly skilled crewmembers are trained in first aid and rescue. Great work!