Submerged log just another obstacle to revival of WA ferries

Last weekend’s breakdown of the marine vessel Puyallup, apparently caused by a floating log between Edmonds and Kingston, has delayed those communities’ long-awaited return to full two-boat service.

The underwater impact, which bent the propeller, also represents a temporary bump in the road as the state restores all 10 routes to the nation’s largest ferry system.

Washington State Ferries has funded a hiring binge to reduce chronic crew shortages, ridership is rising, and the Legislature is sending more money since the depths of fall 2021, when ferry leaders announced a skimpy “alternate service” schedule.

Ridership statewide grew by 100,000 passengers, or 0.6%, to a total 17.4 million in 2022. Vehicle traffic reached 82% of pre-pandemic, full-service levels, total riders at 73%, but walk-on passengers only 49% as many continued to work from home.

Ironically, the Edmonds-Kingston route was undergoing “full service restoration trials” with two-boat service since Jan. 1, after months of running mainly a single ferry. If the fleet achieves 95% reliability for three weeks, the route would be considered permanently restored. “I’m happy to say, a week and a half into it, we’re doing well,” ferries director Patty Rubstello told an online community forum, just two days before the log strike on Friday the 13th.

Now, the jumbo 202-car ferry will be docked seven to 10 days in Kingston, until underwater repairs are complete. The crew wasn’t sure where and when the prop hit the log, but noticed excess vibration late Friday, according to spokesperson Hadley Rodero.

More hazards await this weekend, as several days of king tides arrive in Puget Sound waters, some reaching 13 feet. Unusual volumes of timber were already awash following king tides in late December.

Driftwood and dock pieces can be tough to spot, especially at night or during fog, rain or smoke. “Wave action also hiders a navigator’s view as hazards are often low to the waterline,” said Brad Schultz, chief of waterway maintenance for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Seattle District, who has been salvaging hazardous logs. Waterlogged trees, known as “deadheads,” can partly sink or drift at angles where they’re mostly underwater, he said. Some lines of debris exceed 1,000 yards, he said.

WSF will soon refocus on its restoration plan, that ranks the 10 routes by priority. More deck officers are considered the greatest need, to fully staff the network, ferry managers say.

In the wake of shift reorganizations and increased training, the prospects look good to have enough navigators by summer, said Dan Twohig, regional representative for the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots.

“The MM&P have put the people in place to make the service restoration plan successful. I think it’s going to get better. It’s painful, but we are turning the corner. The big wild card is the boats,” Twohig said.

The agency hired 202 fleet workers in 2022, while 42 retired and 99 resigned for other reasons, resulting in a net gain of 61 crew, Rodero said.

The workforce remains depleted, including a shortage of nearly 30 captains and mates. Filling those positions is difficult, Rubstello said, because deckhands need at least five years or longer to earn promotion to captains.

The Legislature and WSF now provide paid training for experienced deckhands while they study to become mates. Twelve now are doing so, another cohort of 12 begin this month, and 18 are undergoing “pilotage” training aboard ship, a December report said.

The governor’s 2023-25 budget proposes a $21.5 million boost for recruiting and training, along with $202.4 million to preserve and maintain boats.

Besides more training options, WSF now offers year-round work instead of seasonal entry-level jobs, and weeklong assignments for engine room workers, Chief of Staff Nicole McIntosh said. Those changes address years of frustration where unstable schedules discouraged people from ferry careers.

Public abuse of front-line workers, including racial and sexist slurs, and spitting, have created an obstacle to retaining crew, and WSF is trying to reduce rider misconduct, Rubstello reported.

The 21-vessel fleet, too, is stretched thin. Normally, 17 ferries run during the winter and 19 in summer, while two to four undergo planned maintenance. But three more boats — the Cathlamet, the Tacoma and now the Puyallup — are sidelined. The Cathlamet, which crunched into pilings at the Fauntleroy dock last summer, is being repaired at a shipyard.

If the Cathlamet were intact, could WSF reshuffle its fleet so Edmonds-Kingston still offers two boats this week? Rodero couldn’t answer for sure, but said another boat would certainly help.

Regular riders of the Edmonds-Kingston passage have become reluctantly accustomed to reduced service. The route was fourth in line, behind the Anacortes-San Juan Islands, Seattle-Bainbridge, and Mukilteo-Clinton routes, to return to full operation. There was an hour wait to catch a boat leaving Kingston on Wednesday morning, state officials said.

Aging vessels remain a challenge. The Tilikum, Kaleetan and Yakima are due for retirement between now and 2027, but Rubstello said the Legislature provided enough money to keep them sailing, until five new hybrid-electric boats are built this decade.

WSF aspires to restore a third boat to the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth triangle corridor sometime in early 2023. The Seattle-Bremerton and Port Townsend-Coupeville routes might each get a second boat if enough mates finish training by spring, says a January progress update.

However, there is no prospect to reopen the international route between Anacortes and Sidney, B.C., until summer or later.

2023 will be an eventful year. The Coast Guard and WSF are expected to release their investigative reports into why the Cathlamet crashed, but neither agency gave a timeline to publish their findings.

Additionally, there’s likely to be a hairy period for drivers traveling between Bainbridge Island and Seattle. The new Colman Dock in downtown Seattle is nearly complete while there are likely to be some passenger and vehicle disruptions this spring due to the Bainbridge overhead loading project underway. Public notices will be issued once details are finalized.

Editor’s note: An initial version of this article mistakenly stated the new Colman Dock project would cause vehicle disruptions. It is the Bainbridge overhead loading project that will cause the disruptions.

Seattle Times transportation reporter David Kroman contributed to this article.