||| FROM PATTY RUBSTELLO for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||
Youth Maritime Collaborative aboard Tacoma
As we build our workforce, it’s important that we attract young and diverse candidates. Not just for our current hiring push, but long term as half of our crewmembers out in the fleet will be eligible for retirement soon. As part of our effort to attract a new generation of employees, we hosted 13 members of the Youth Maritime Collaborative (YMC) on a tour aboard Tacoma on Friday. The group got to see the 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. Thanks to everyone who helped make this tour happen so we can share our work with possible future mariners!
Thank you to our YMC partners for connecting us with this group of bright young minds so we could show them around Tacoma.
YMC members look inside the firefighting gear storage room aboard Tacoma. A few of them picked up a jacket to feel how heavy they are.
Service restoration update
Our latest biweekly Service Restoration Plan (PDF 794KB) Progress Report (PDF 608KB) shows we’re maintaining service reliability of 95% on two of our three restored routes. Mechanical issues with Tillikum and COVID-19 cases among our crews caused our Anacortes/San Juan Islands run to temporarily fall below that threshold over the past two weeks. This is an unfortunate example of how delicate our crewing situation remains and how trialing full service on our Edmonds/Kingston route could put our other runs with restored service in jeopardy. However, we will continue to add a second vessel on our Edmonds/Kingston route daily as crewing allows.
Federal funding increase, grant to plan and design terminal wait time system
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently announced that WSF will be receiving two batches of funding. The first is for $38 million from FHWA’s Ferry Boat Program. That’s an increase of $21 million from what we’ve received in recent years as a result of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The other is a $5.1 million grant to plan and design a terminal wait time system. The goal is to determine what technology and infrastructure are needed to improve the efficiency of our terminal operations and reduce wait time for our customers in vehicles. Our grants team continues to pour over funding opportunities with an eye towards bringing in more money for the system.
History of ferry service in Mukilteo
Our new Mukilteo terminal is featured on the Seattle Now & Then website. The story covers the history of ferry service between Mukilteo and Whidbey Island, whose name used to be spelled Whidby. A shorter Seattle Times version recently ran in the Pacific NW magazine.
The new Mukilteo terminal opened in December 2020.The award-winning facility is built to LEED Gold standards.
