WSF Weekly Report | Recruiting HS students; first aid training; summer reservations; public meeting

I joined Washington State Ferries two-and-a-half years ago as operations director, overseeing the dedicated employees who tirelessly serve at our terminals and aboard our vessels. One aspect that truly struck me when I came aboard was the frequency with which our staff find themselves involved in life-saving incidents. Multiple times each month, I found myself expressing gratitude and admiration to crewmembers and terminal staff for their quick and courageous responses. We take immense pride in the fact that our well-trained team members are always ready to provide life-saving interventions, whether it’s rescuing families from distressed pleasure boats or assisting individuals experiencing medical emergencies at the terminals. If you follow our updates closely, you’ll also know that we’ve even rescued cats, dogs and other wildlife on occasion.

So, whether you’re out on the water enjoying the beauty of the Salish Sea or traveling through our terminals and vessels, rest assured that if you ever need help, there’s a good chance our incredibly professional personnel will come to your rescue. To add to our life-saving capabilities, our safety department has implemented a crucial policy allowing our terminals and vessels to carry naloxone nasal spray, or Narcan. Whether it’s our staff administering this critical medication or having it readily available for law enforcement use, this policy has already proven instrumental in saving lives.

Over the past few years, we’ve increased access to life-saving opioid overdose reversal medications at our facilities, as well as employee training on how to use them. Our number one priority is safety and this week, we made a commitment to the White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose. We first started supplying Narcan out in the fleet in December 2019. Within two years, we had a naloxone kit at every one of our work sites. While the equipment comes with instructions, much of our staff is also well-trained in how to provide the medication. Since 2018, our employees have used those kits to save six lives, and law enforcement or emergency medical services used Narcan seven times at our facilities with our crews assisting with the response.

All new vessel crewmembers and terminal employees must complete basic first aid training, which includes the use of naloxone medication.

Summer vehicle reservations available 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 16

Vehicle reservations for our summer season (June 16 to Sept. 21) on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands and Port Townsend/Coupeville routes will be available at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 16. As a reminder, this will be just the third time that our two-month season release is three hours later than previously. This change helps separate the high traffic demand (online and in our call center) of the two-month release from those looking to make a reservation during the daily two-week and two-day releases for our Anacortes/San Juan Islands runs, which will remain at 7 a.m. daily.

We have implemented a virtual waiting room to prevent website overload and deliver fair access during this high-demand period. Customers accessing the site who are directed to the waiting room will see their place in line, estimated expected wait time and will have the option to receive a notification and come back to the site when it is their turn.

Public meetings on Anacortes/San Juan Islands route schedule rewrite process

We will host virtual public information sessions on April 23 and 24 to discuss the schedule update process for our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route. The timetables are being revised to improve on-time performance, support reliability, provide adequate travel opportunities for key user groups and maintain as much capacity as possible. Each meeting will include information on the goals and constraints for developing new schedules and how members of the community can be involved in the process. The new sailing times will begin with the winter 2025 sailing season. Both meetings will be hosted on Zoom and feature the same content.

Governor signs supplemental transportation budget

Gov. Jay Inslee recently signed the 2024 supplemental transportation budget passed by the Legislature at the close of this year’s 60-day legislative session. We received funding to improve service reliability and increase workforce development, along with support for our electrification efforts, as well as vessel and terminal maintenance and preservation. Highlights include:

• $10 million to add an additional ordinary sailor and engine room oiler to each “watch” or shift to provide even better service and to be equipped for unexpected absences that then result in missed sailings.
• $2.1 million to expand our able-bodied sailor to mate The program reduces barriers to career advancement and encourages qualified, internal unlicensed deck crew (able-bodied sailors) to become licensed mates.
• $935,000 to add staff to our dispatch team.
• $540,000 to grow our training scholarship program with the Marine Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies. The program helps build a sustainable, diverse workforce pipeline by making maritime education and licenses available to more people.
• $73 million to continue work to electrify our ferries.

The 2024 supplemental transportation budget includes $4 million to supplement our Seattle/Bremerton route with additional Kitsap Transit passenger-only ferry service so travelers have more reliable service and more options while the route remains on one-boat service. We also received $3.2 million to add King County Water Taxi service between Vashon Island and downtown Seattle to supplement our Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route, which remains on a two-boat schedule instead of three.

Helping students to get Merchant Mariner Credentials

If you’ve read our Weekly Update over the past few weeks, you probably know that I love sharing what the maritime industry offers with our next generation of potential mariners. One of the best ways to do this is by investing in our youth. Eighteen Maritime High School juniors recently earned their Merchant Mariner Credential at no cost thanks to our partnership with the Northwest Maritime Center. We also paid for their basic safety training, first aid certificates and Transportation Workers Identification Credential. These ambitious high schoolers are halfway through a two-year program that will train and equip them with the skills necessary to become workers in the maritime industry.

These Maritime High School students are expected to graduate in June 2025 with all the credentials and qualifications to apply for entry-level maritime jobs. Photo courtesy Northwest Maritime Center.

Renton High School students tour Walla Walla

Another way to show young people the opportunities a maritime career can provide is by offering them a chance to experience firsthand the wonders of the sea. We hosted 20 Renton High School students aboard Walla Walla last Thursday. During a roundtrip sailing between Seattle and Bremerton, they got a behind-the-scenes tour of the vessel and got to speak with crewmembers. They even participated in a hands-on fire drill! The tour was part of our partnership with Core Plus Maritime to help us reach more students within the Puget Sound region.

Renton High School students interested in a maritime career visit the wheelhouse of Walla Walla during a vessel tour last Thursday.

King County councilmembers tour Cathlamet

It’s also important to share what we do with our government partners. We hosted several members of the Metropolitan King County Council aboard Cathlamet Thursday evening. Following a community meeting on Vashon Island, four councilmembers toured the vessel while sailing back to Fauntleroy. Thank you to Capt. Charlie King and crew for showing them what we do to link Vashon Island with the rest of King County!

Councilmembers Teresa Mosqueda, Jorge L. Barón, Sarah Perry and Claudia Balducci with Capt. Charlie King in the Cathlamet wheelhouse.

Eagle Harbor, terminal engineering staff collaborate on maintenance plans  

I am encouraging my colleagues to focus on being a people-first, values-based culture. A big element of this culture shift is how we, as a team, work together, treat each other and support one another. A great example of this respectful collaboration is the work going on right now between our terminal engineering department and Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility. Several employees from each team are touring our terminals to review past and current preventative maintenance efforts for each terminal. I enjoy seeing this kind of cooperation that is essential to providing safe and reliable service.

Staff from our Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility and terminal engineering department at Tahlequah terminal late last month. They will be visiting most of our routes through next month.

Weekday delays across SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge

Factor in extra time if your weekday ferry plans include travel across the State Route 104 Hood Canal Bridge. On Monday, April 15, WSDOT crews will begin an in-depth inspection of the bridge that involves opening the draw span occasionally. This work requires closing the bridge to all traffic for up to an hour around 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each weekday. The exact time could vary depending on work progress. The inspection is scheduled to wrap up Friday, April 26.

National Work Zone Awareness Week

Next week is National Work Zone Awareness Week, which brings attention to motorist and worker safety and mobility issues in work zones. Our vessels and terminals are very much a work zone as drivers maneuver around and through our employees. Please remember to slow down, be kind, pay attention and stay calm near all work zones.

Customer kudos

“RAVE to the thoughtful person who places fresh flowers in the women’s restrooms at the Edmonds-Kingston ferry crossing. Rave to the crews that patiently offer extra help to those with mobility impairments. Rave to the fascinating historical photos and Indigenous art in the cabins, the jigsaw puzzles on most tables and the reopened galley kitchens. It’s delightful to re-experience amenities I took for granted before pandemic restrictions kept ferry riders sequestered in their cars for so many long, dreary months.”

-Edmonds/Kingston route customer in The Seattle Times