Page 37: of Marine News Magazine (January 2016)

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FERRIES & PASSENGER VESSELS

The completed ferry M/V Samish

Photo: WSF $308,000 to ? x but, as Kosa points out, the vessels came in seventh is in the pipeline. Building new vessels continues nearly $19 million under budget from Vigor. Separately, an to be a top priority.” WSF would ideally have one relief of? cial investigation of the football fan-packed Cathlamet vessel stationed in north Puget Sound, and one stationed uncovered a defective crowd counting clicker as the root in the south. cause, and WSF has said it won’t happen again. Despite running very lean, WSF has a 99.5 percent reli-

WSF’s Board of Inquiry did an investigation and con- ability rate. Beyond that, all vessels have been upgraded to ? rmed that the ferry Tacoma’s failure was characteristic of meet EPA air quality standards. The ? rst three Olympic the manufacturer’s design, which led to modi? cations of Class vessels meet EPA Tier 3 standards and the fourth, the electrical switchboard systems on the other Jumbo Mark Chimacum, will meet Tier 4 standards.

II class vessels, Puyallup and Wenatchee. Kosa explains, Kosa said, “A few weeks ago, several members of the ex- “High-pro? le problems like the Tacoma’s loss of power can ecutive team were out riding a ferry in the northern Puget be tough to talk about, but that’s when a culture of ac- Sound during a nasty storm. The conditions were pretty countability matters most …We took special care to listen rough—big swells, high wind, limited visibility. It was eye to frontline engine crews as the team developed solutions opening for our execs who don’t come from a maritime to protect against issues like this in the future.” background. They got to see what our crews deal with out on the water, the conditions, the competing demands, the

Looking Ahead pressure of keeping our passengers safe and secure. Experi-

WSF has a maintenance backlog of $241 million and a ences like these help us stay focused on what’s really impor- biennial budget that only supports half of its preservation tant when we make decisions back in the of? ce.” requirements. Construction of the newest ferry will help, Today’s WSF has a steady hand at the helm and a weath- but won’t solve the problem of deferred maintenance. er eye on the horizon. What comes next for many aspects

The age of the vessels is still well over anything a private of the nation’s largest ferry system isn’t altogether clear, but system would use. “All but seven [of 24] vessels are over at least one thing isn’t shrouded in the fog: the Washing- 30 years old,” said Kosa. “However, we’ve built ? ve ves- ton State Ferry system is moving eagerly, full speed ahead, sels since 2010. The sixth is under construction and the toward the next challenge.

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