WSF Weekly Report | Recovering from busy weekend; Navy band on board; paddleboarder rescue

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

A message from Steve

You may have noticed an increase in crew-related sailing cancellations over the past few weeks after a relatively long period of improved stability. I know how frustrating these disruptions can be, especially during the busy summer travel season. Like many industries, we are still building back our workforce following the pandemic. With support from Gov. Bob Ferguson and the Legislature, we have made significant progress recruiting, training and promoting employees into licensed positions. But there is still work to do. Summer also brings additional challenges because it’s when many of my colleagues take their well-earned vacation time. We prepare for this every year by carefully planning for their coverage, scaling back training programs and limiting meetings including fleet staff. This helps make sure as many crew members as possible are available to operate service. Even with that preparation, many of our qualified relief employees are already assigned to cover planned vacations. That leaves fewer crew available when someone unexpectedly calls in sick or has another last-minute emergency.

Deck crews secure Samish while docking on Shaw Island during a busy summer day. 

Replacing a ferry crew member is often much more complicated than it appears. Every vessel must have a full crew of qualified, credentialed employees to operate safely and meet U.S. Coast Guard regulations. Like many public transportation systems, funding is provided to staff vessel positions at their certified minimum safe staffing levels. This means if even one required licensed crew member, such as a captain, mate or engineer request relief, we cannot sail until a qualified relief employee is found. Think of it like an airline. If a pilot scheduled for a flight calls in sick, the airline can’t ask another airport employee to fly the aircraft. They must find another qualified pilot and get that person to the aircraft before the flight can depart. Our ferries operate much the same way.

While we still have work to do, we are in a much stronger position than we were just a few years ago. Following the pandemic, a crew shortage could leave a vessel out of service for an entire day. Thanks to the work of our crews, dispatchers and operations teams – and the progress we’ve made rebuilding our workforce – we can usually limit the impact to one or two sailings while we reposition qualified, credentialed employees. We know every cancellation affects your plans. We remain committed to improving the reliability you expect and deserve.

Kennewick crew members rescue paddleboarder near Port Townsend

One of the people who made a difference during a rescue on Friday was a cadet in our licensed deck officer apprenticeship program. While gaining sea time and learning from a mentor captain aboard Kennewick, the cadet spotted someone on the water frantically waving their arms after our crew received a report of a paddleboarder in distress near our Port Townsend terminal. They immediately stopped the ferry, launched a rescue boat and safely brought the person to shore. Thankfully the paddleboarder was not hurt. I imagine Friday was a lesson that cadet will never forget. It showed that working on our ferries is about more than safely carrying passengers across the Salish Sea. It’s also about watching out for others and helping when someone is in danger. The apprenticeship program in which the cadet is enrolled means a great deal to me. When I came to Washington State Ferries, I wanted a clear path to develop our future mates and captains. With support from the governor and the Legislature, we partnered with the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies to create the two-year program. It gives people with no previous maritime experience a path to become the licensed deck officers we need most. My thanks go to everyone involved in the rescue. It’s another reminder of the professionalism, training and compassion our crews bring to work every day.

Bosun Ben Flodquist and Able-Bodied Seafarer William Olson approach a paddleboarder in distress in a rescue boat. They safely brought the person aboard and took them to Point Hudson Marina. Photo courtesy Lisa Bettis.

Engine room training scholarship still available

There is still money left in our new engine room training scholarship for folks interested in an exciting maritime career on board our ferries. This is one of many ways we are working to attract the best people from all backgrounds. Applicants must be Washington residents. They must also be enrolled in, or in contact with, a Qualified Member of the Engine Department training program in Washington, and plan to start classes within six months. Applicants must also have a Transportation Worker Identification Card and a Merchant Mariner Credential or show that they have applied for an MMC. Scholarships are awarded on a first come, first served basis while funding lasts. Approved applicants can receive up to $6,250 for tuition only. After finishing the program, participants must complete required sea time through their training provider before they can test for QMED certification (PDF 164KB) . We want to create clear pathways into long-term careers with us as we look to not just build but stabilize our workforce well into the future.

Holders of QMED certifications can apply for entry-level engine room positions.

SR 525 overnight roadwork near Mukilteo terminal

If you’re catching a late-night or early-morning weekday ferry on our Mukilteo/Clinton route with a vehicle, plan for possible traffic delays through the end of the year. A State Route 525 paving project between SR 525 Spur/Paine Field Boulevard and Second Street near our Mukilteo terminal begins Sunday night, Aug. 2. From 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., Sunday nights through Friday mornings, crews may close one lane at a time. Traffic will alternate through a single open lane. Pedestrians may also be detoured onto nearby city streets.

The project, which covers nearly 3 miles of SR 525, is expected to be completed by the end of the year, weather permitting.

Navy Band brings its own horns to Wenatchee

A brass quintet from Navy Band Northwest brought live music to Wenatchee Friday, entertaining passengers with movie soundtrack themes during a roundtrip sailing between Seattle and Bainbridge Island. The performance was part of Seattle Fleet Week celebrations. A woodwind quartet from Navy Band Northwest is scheduled to perform on today’s 2:05 p.m. sailing out of Bainbridge and 3 p.m. Seattle departure. We appreciate the musicians bringing live music to our summer sailings.

Five members of Navy Band Northwest performed on board Wenatchee on Friday.

Sailing stats for week of July 20-26

For the week of July 20-26, our systemwide on-time performance (sailings that left within 10 minutes of their scheduled departure) was 76.8%. By comparison, it was 70.3% during a similar week last year (July 21-27, 2025). To view our on-time performance by month going back to 2017, visit our on-time performance reports page.

Customer kudos

“Hello! I just wanted to give the deepest thank you to the workers on the Edmonds/Kingston route today (7/15). We were on the way to see my dad in the hospital who was in an active state of dying. We asked if they thought we’d make the boat otherwise we needed to drive around. When the last cars were loading, they pulled us ahead to ensure we made the boat. We were on the 2:25pm boat and my dad passed at 5pm. I cannot express how much this meant to me and my family. I am forever grateful. Please pass on my eternal thanks to the wonderful people who run our ferries ”

-Edmonds/Kingston route customer