WSF Weekly Report | Tours, Ramel visits Orcas, contract awarded for hybrid-electric conversion

||| FROM NICOLE MCINTOSH for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

Tour gives youth a chance to explore our ferry Wenatchee

We hosted 16 members of the Youth Maritime Collaborative for a tour aboard Wenatchee Friday afternoon, continuing our efforts to anchor down in the local youth community. The group visited the ferry’s pilothouse and engine room during a roundtrip sailing between Seattle and Bainbridge Island. YMC’s summer internship program connects young community members with the maritime industry in our region. Engaging with young and diverse mariner candidates is one of the key pillars of our future success.

Ordinary Sailor Alex Bresnan and I speak to the youth in the Wenatchee passenger cabin about what it’s like to work at WSF.

Members of this summer’s Youth Maritime Collaborative summer internship program pose for a group photo aboard Wenatchee during a tour of the vessel.

Unscheduled 3-boat Edmonds/Kingston route service during September Bainbridge vehicle closure

When crewing and vessel availability allows, we will provide unscheduled three-boat service on our Edmonds/Kingston route when our Seattle/Bainbridge run will be closed to vehicles, motorcycles and bicycles next month for overhead walkway replacement work. Because we’re operating our Seattle/Bainbridge route on a one-boat schedule during that time for walk-ons only, the second vessel is available for added service on our Edmonds/Kingston run. It will operate around the current two-boat schedule there to handle additional vehicle traffic traveling to or from Bainbridge Island and the Kitsap Peninsula.

During the vehicle closure, we’ll use the loading/offloading area as a construction and staging zone so cranes can lift four large bridge spans onto concrete piers (visible in white).

From 1 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, through 3 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, no vehicles will be allowed on our Seattle/Bainbridge route. We will accommodate emergency medical vehicles, in coordination with local emergency services. The run will operate on a one-boat schedule for walk-on and ADA passengers travelling without a vehicle during that time. They will use the existing overhead walkway to board and get off a ferry. Kitsap Transit, King County Metro, Sound Transit and Seattle Electric Scooter and Bike Share (PDF 76KB)  provide transportation links for walk-ons on the route. Answers to some of the common questions about the vehicle closure can be found in our FAQ.

Rep. Alex Ramel on Anacortes/San Juan Islands route

State Rep. Alex Ramel, whose legislative district includes Anacortes and the San Juan Islands, and his legislative assistant, Amanda Hubik, who is also an Anacortes city councilmember, visited our vessel crews (Kaleetan and Samish) and terminals (Anacortes, Lopez Island and Orcas) on Friday. Rep. Ramel personally thanked our frontline staff for their work, especially given current service challenges, and heard their input on their jobs and WSF. We appreciate his time and the doughnuts and cookies he gave out during the meetings!

During a tour of Samish, Rep. Alex Ramel stopped in the wheelhouse to chat with Captain Jeff Reeves.

Contract awarded to convert largest vessels to hybrid-electric power

We took a big step forward this week in our electrification efforts! We awarded Vigor with a contract to convert up to three of our Jumbo Mark II-class ferries to hybrid-electric power. The contract also includes the replacement of each vessel’s propulsion control systems, which will increase their reliability and extend the life expectancy of these vessels. Vigor’s winning bid was just over $150 million. The state’s estimate was approximately $120 million. Work on Wenatchee begins next month and should be done in a year. Vigor will then begin converting Tacoma in 2024. We have the option to extend the contract to convert Puyallup in 2025. Once complete, and shoreside charging is in place, we anticipate a 95% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on Jumbo Mark II vessels.

“Thank you to AB#2 [Douglas Lundgren] on the Wenatchee today, who took the time to explain the emergency muster poster to our very interested 8 year old  @wsferries”

-Seattle/Bainbridge customer on Twitter