HomeMy WebLinkAbout062624 email - WSF Fourth of July Week ServiceALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Good afternoon ferry community officials,
As you know, per our 2024 Service Contingency Plan <https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-01/WSF-Service-Contingency-Plan-2024.pdf> , WSF is currently operating a 15-boat schedule.
Happily, since last week, we’ve been able to operate a third “bonus” boat on the Fauntleroy/Southworth/Vashon route for one watch a day, improving service on that route downsized to
two-boat service for most of the last three years. Unfortunately, with vessel availability still an issue, we have challenges facing the busy holiday week.
During recent routine maintenance at WSF’s Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility, staff discovered the Suquamish, a 144-vehicle Olympic Class vessel, had a crab pot line wrapped around its
stern tube (pictured below), requiring an unplanned dry dock to repair. When crab lines wrap around the stern tube they can cause damage allowing water to enter the vessel and if not
acted upon, can allow oil into the water, an unacceptable and unallowable environmental impact, so obviously the boat must be repaired immediately. That work is ongoing at the Everett
shipyard with everyone working hard to complete repairs as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this work takes time, so the vessel may not be ready to return to service until early
next week.
Our plan was to swap the Suquamish with the Tokitae, another Olympic Class vessel currently assigned to the Clinton/Mukilteo route, over the weekend, as the Tokitae has to come out of
service by Sunday, June 30, for its federally mandated five-year drydocking. However, if the Suquamish isn’t repaired, fueled, and hasn’t successfully completed sea trials, that swap
may not be possible until early next week – just before the busy Fourth of July travel period. With only smaller vessels available, that could, if we don’t have the Suquamish, lead
to a significant downsizing of capacity on mid-Sound routes until the boat returns to service.
WSF senior management is meeting daily to discuss how to provide as much service as possible during the busy weekend. We are talking to the Coast Guard and the shipyard to ensure all
available resources are brought to bear on not further downsizing routes already on reduced vehicle capacity. To be fully transparent and to allow our customers to plan for next week,
this afternoon we will begin messaging the possibility of further vehicle capacity reductions next week. We hope the downsizings won’t occur, but we want customers to know what we
do as quickly as possible.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best,
Hadley
Hadley Rodero (she/her)
Deputy Director – Planning, Customer & Government Relations
Washington State Ferries/WSDOT Ferries Division
hadley.rodero@wsdot.wa.gov <mailto:hadley.rodero@wsdot.wa.gov>
mobile | 206-818-3813