WSF Weekly Report | Decisions, decisions

||| FROM STEVE NEVEY for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

A message from Steve

One of the challenges of leading Washington State Ferries is that there are often more things to do than we have the resources to accomplish. Every day, we make decisions about how best to use our vessels, our people, our maintenance capacity and our funding. Those decisions aren’t always easy. They often involve competing priorities.

For example, taking a ferry out of service for maintenance may affect today’s schedule. But delaying that maintenance could lead to a more significant disruption in the future. Similarly, investing in training and developing our workforce can mean temporarily taking experienced employees away from daily operations. However, this allows them to share their knowledge with new colleagues. It’s an investment that is essential to our long-term success.

A ferry passes another in the Salish Sea, a reminder of the complex system we run every day. Operating WSF means looking beyond any one ferry, route or day of service. Every decision we make must account for the needs of the entire system and how we use our people, vessels and resources.

We face similar decisions about where to direct limited funding, how to prioritize repairs to aging vessels and how to prepare for the arrival of new ferries while continuing to operate the system we have today. I know these decisions can be frustrating for our customers, particularly when they result in reduced service or cancellations. And I recognize that understanding why a decision was made doesn’t necessarily make its consequences any easier.

Our responsibility is to make these decisions thoughtfully, with safety as our first priority. We must also consider the immediate needs of our customers, impacts on our fleet colleagues who show up every day to get customers to their destinations, and the long-term health of our ferry system. We’re also working to rebuild a system that has experienced decades of underinvestment. That means we have to be careful not to become so focused on today’s challenges that we lose sight of what needs to change for tomorrow.

Our employees are the heart of WSF. Their skills, experience and commitment keep our system running safely today while helping us build the knowledge and workforce we need for the future.

I believe we have a responsibility to make the best possible use of the resources we have. At the same time, we must continue to make the case for the resources we need. We won’t always get every decision right. There will also be times when the choices we make disappoint our customers. But I hope that by being more transparent about those decisions, we can help our customers better understand the challenges we’re working through and the progress we’re trying to make.

Honoring those who have served our country

Veterans Day is an opportunity to recognize the many veterans who are part of our workforce and thank all who have served our country. Their skills, experience and commitment to public service help keep our communities connected every day. I also have a personal connection to recognizing veterans. My father and grandfather both served in the British Armed Forces, and my dad’s time in the Royal Navy helped spark my own interest in a life at sea and a career in maritime. On Tuesday, Nov. 11, all operating ferries will sound their whistles at 11:11 a.m. – the time of the World War I armistice – as a tribute to veterans in our organization and across our region. To all who have served, thank you for your dedication and sacrifice.

On Veterans Day, all our ferries will fly the flag of one of the six military branches (Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, Space Force) or the Merchant Marine flag. They will also fly the POW/MIA flag to honor those who were prisoners of war or went missing while serving.

Help shape the interior look of our new ferries

We want your input as we get ready to build our new hybrid-electric ferries. An online survey is open now through Nov. 30. Our designer at JE Russell Interiors created three color options for the interior passenger cabins, and your feedback will help us make a final recommendation to our leadership team. Construction of this new class of vessels has started on the Wishkah, which is scheduled to enter service in 2030. I encourage you to take the survey and help shape the look of these new boats.

From left to right, the three color palettes include:

• Option 1: Earthy Calm features warm, natural tones inspired by Northwest forests and shorelines.
• Option 2: Traditional Marine uses classic coastal blues and greens that honor Washington ferry history.
• Option 3: Hybrid Bold pairs modern teals with burnt orange accents to celebrate our clean-energy future.

Vehicle reservations for winter sailing season available at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10

Starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, customers can book vehicle reservations for winter travel (Dec. 27 to March 20, 2027). For our Anacortes/San Juan Island route, 30% of capacity on each sailing will be released. On our Port Townsend/Coupeville run, all reservations space (80% for each sailing) will be made available. The remaining 20% is set aside for emergency and stand-by vehicles. Like past sailing season releases, we’ll use a virtual waiting room to keep the website from getting overloaded. This will be our second winter with increased service on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route as fall timetables will remain in place through spring. This single, nine-month “off-peak” schedule was created based on community feedback.

Our winter vehicle reservations release was postponed to Nov. 10 to adjust reservation availability for vehicle transfer span upgrades on Lopez (shown here) and Orcas islands. This extra time allowed us to make sure the 48-hour closures of these terminals in March are reflected in our reservation system before bookings open.

Helping the next generation find a career at sea

Building tomorrow’s workforce starts with helping people discover maritime careers today. On Friday, we joined Tacoma’s City Services Expo and Trades & Hiring Fair at the Tacoma Dome. We met with high school students and community members to share our many career opportunities. Events like this help young people learn about jobs in the trades and explore a future in the maritime industry. A big thank you to Workforce Outreach Coordinator Adam Dahl and everyone who represented WSF. His Maritime Workforce Outreach Program has attended more than 50 career fairs and outreach events in the past year and hosted dozens of onboard vessel tours.

Our team brought some Halloween spirit to the fair, which helped make maritime careers more approachable and fun for those exploring their future. Pictured from left are Occupational Safety and Health Specialist Jessica Reed, Chief Mate Claire O’Leary, Workforce Outreach Coordinator Adam Dahl and Oiler Sandra Cazacopol.

Sailing stats for week of Oct. 26 to Nov. 1

For the week of Oct. 26 to Nov. 1, we completed 98.5% of our 2,850 scheduled sailings. This figure is separate from on-time performance. Of the 50 cancellations, 18 were due to crewing, 12 because of other miscellaneous reasons, nine for terminal-related issues, five due to tidal currents, three because of vessel-related issues and one for a schedule reset (when a boat is so far behind schedule, we cancel a sailing to get it back on schedule, providing predictability for customers).

For comparison, during a similar week last year (Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, 2025), we completed 98.3% of our 2,914 scheduled sailings. Of the 51 cancellations that week, 19 were because of crewing, 19 for vessel-related issues, eight due to weather, three because of terminal-related issues, one for an emergency and one due to other miscellaneous reasons.

Customer kudos

“RAVE to the Washington State Ferries crew member who helped this hapless senior find the car I was riding in (after I used the restroom on the ferry) while returning from Whidbey Island the other day. He talked via cellphone to my niece, who was driving, and then personally escorted me to the car. What a relief.”

-Mukilteo/Clinton route customer in The Seattle Times