WSF Weekly Report | Busy Labor Day weekend ridership numbers

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

Merchant Mariner Credential required to apply for any of our vessel crew positions

Our recruiter, Renee Mason, recently got a Merchant Mariner Credential. To better understand the process for prospective mariners, Renee completed the several-step process required to earn an MMC. No maritime experience is needed to get an MMC, but one is required to apply for any of our vessel crew positions, including food galley staff. Renee says that she can see how the process can be a bit confusing and lengthy depending on where you live. However, now that she has done it, she says she has great insight into helping our prospective candidates. Issued by the Coast Guard, an MMC is the standard documentation for all crewmembers on U.S. ships that are required to operate with a licensed captain.

Ken Heaton, chief of U.S. Coast Guard Regional Examiner Center Seattle, administers the Merchant Mariner Oath to Recruiter Renee Mason as the final step of her application.

Seattle/Bainbridge route vehicle closure begins 

After five months of public notices, today is the first of six days that our Seattle/Bainbridge route is closed to vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and scooters as crews install a new overhead walkway. Until 3 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, the run is operating a one-boat schedule for customers travelling without a vehicle. To help accommodate cross-Sound traffic during the vehicle closure, we’re adding a third ferry on our Edmonds/Kingston route when crewing and vessel availability allows. The unscheduled boat will sail around that run’s current two-boat schedule.

The vehicle loading/offloading area is being used as a construction and staging zone so cranes can lift four large bridge spans onto these concrete piers during the closure.

Labor Day weekend ridership numbers

Preliminary Labor Day weekend ridership numbers are in, and we safely carried more than 377,000 people Thursday, Aug. 31, through Tuesday, Sept. 5! As expected, our busiest day was Saturday, Sept. 2, with 85,668 riders, followed by Friday, Sept. 1 with 72,401. Please join me in thanking our vessel crews, dispatchers, terminal and maintenance staff, and our operations center and customer service employees for their work providing safe service to our customers over the holiday weekend!

Large weekend events near 2 of our terminals

Even though the busy Labor Day holiday is behind us, this weekend is shaping up to be another busy one for us with a lot of events happening on both sides of the Sound. Two popular celebrations will take place next to two of our terminals. The Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival starts tomorrow, Sept. 8, and wraps up Sunday, Sept. 10, at Lighthouse Park. In Port Townsend, the Wooden Boat Festival also runs tomorrow through Sunday.