Steel Electric class ferry
 The MV Nisqually on Puget Sound | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: | 1927-1940 Southern Pacific-Golden Gate Ferries Ltd 1940-1951 Black Ball Line 1951-2007 Washington State Ferries |
| Built: | 1927 Refit: 1981-1987 |
| In service: | 1927-2007 |
| Building: | 6 |
| Completed: | 6 |
| Retired: | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | auto/passenger ferry |
| Tonnage: |
gross-tonnage: 1,368 net-tonnage: 930 |
| Length: | 256 ft (78.0 m) |
| Beam: | 73 ft 10 in (22.5 m) |
| Draft: | 12 ft 9 in (3.9 m) |
| Deck clearance: | 13 ft 9 in (4.2 m) |
| Installed power: | Total 2,896 hp (2,160 kW) from 2 x Diesel-Electric engines |
| Speed: | 12 kn (22 km/h) |
| Capacity: |
616 passengers 59-64 vehicles (max 24 commercial) |
The Steel Electric Class ferries became part of the Washington State Ferry System when Puget Sound Navigation Company was acquired in 1951. They were all built in San Francisco or Oakland in the 1920s.
History
The Steel Electric class ferries were built for San Francisco in 1927. However with the opening of the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate bridge they were sold to Puget Sound Navigation, also known as the "Black Ball Line". In the 1940s the Enetai and Willapa were extensively rebuilt and their engines replaced (thus precluding them from being part of the "Steel Electric" class).[1] All six boats were purchased by the Washington Toll Bridge Authority in the fifties. In the sixties the Enetai and Willapa were sold. In the '80s the four remaining boats were given an overhaul and continued to serve until November 2007. The six boats are now fairly different. The Enetai and Willapa were both converted into single-ended boats and had their engines replaced. The Klickitat was rebuilt before the other units and has a shorter cabin and lacks an elevator. The remaining three all have elevators.
Vessels
Ferries in this class include:
- MV Illahee ex Lake Tahoe
- MV Klickitat ex Stockton
- MV Nisqually ex Mendocino
- MV Quinault ex Redwood Empire
Two additional ferries had been originally built within this class, but conversion of their design and power plants made them technically no longer "Steel-Electric" ferries. Both were retired earlier in their careers than the four remaining steel-electric ferries. They were:
- Enetai has been restored to her original state and is now the headquarters of Hornblower Yachts in San Francisco, California under her old name, Santa Rosa.
- Willapa, after years of languishing, is being turned into storage warehouse under her old name, Fresno.
Withdrawal from service
Corrosion on the Steel Electric hulls was discovered in 2007 inspections.[2] On November 20, 2007, the Washington State Secretary of Transportation, Paula Hammond, announced that Washington State Ferries (WSF) will pull all of the Steel Electric class vessels out of service on that day. The decision closed the Port Townsend-Keystone route until WSF began to operate the high-speed passenger-only ferry Snohomish on the run starting November 23.[3]
During Nov. and Dec. the Snohomish was pulled from this run and began a new interim service between Seattle and Port Townsend. This was done, in part, because there were much fewer visitors to Port Townsend during the holiday shopping season; it was hoped that a special run directly from Seattle would bring more visitors and shoppers to town. During this time, WSF got a third party to operate passenger only service on the PT-Keystone run, using a much smaller whale watch boat. The Snohomish was eventually put back on this run.
Unfortunately the corrosion on the ferry's hulls was too extensive and Secretary Hammond has announced they will be scrapped instead. All four of the ferries are berthed at the systems main storage facility in Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island. Governor Gregoire announced plans for their replacement,[4] and the Washington State Legislature directed WSF to build new ferries to replace the Steel Electrics. On February 14, 2008, Governor Gregoire signed Senate Bill 6794[5] into law, which authorizes construction of replacement ferries.[6].
Washington State Ferries has commissioned TODD Pacific Shipyards to build the first the replacement ferries. Its design is based on the Island Home, a vessel which serves the Martha's Vinyard run. The new vessel will hold 64 autos, 1,200 passengers and up to 200 bicycles. The vessel will be launched in January, 2010 and be delivered to Washington State Ferries June, 2010. Bids for an additional 1 to 2 hulls of this class will be received by the state in October of 2010.
In the interim, the state is leasing the Pierce County ferry service's Steilacoom II to cover the Port Townsend-Keystone run.[7] This ferry is being utilized in preference to other State-owned ferries due to the restrictions the Keystone passage imposes on the size of vessels serving that route.
The state had hoped that the first ferry would enter service in April 2009, however in early April 2008 the state rejected a bid of $26 million to build a ferry based on the Steilacoom II design as being too high. Reasons cited for the bid being $9 million over the state's estimate include the requirement that the shipbuilder complete the ferry within one year (or face stiff daily fines), and changes to the specifications including improved safety, security and quality. Washington State Ferries will not re-bid this project.[8]
Despite several proposals to save the vessels, all four of the class were towed to Mexico in June 2009 for scrapping.
References
- ↑ "MV WILLAPA: Forgotten Ferry of the Bremerton Run". evergreenfleet.com. http://www.evergreenfleet.com/mvwillapa.html. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
- ↑ Scott North and Lucas Velush. "Cracks and other damage left out of report on aging ferries". Seattle PI. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_wa_old_ferries.html. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
- ↑ "Steel Electric Ferries Pulled from Service For Port Townsend to Keystone". Washington State Ferries press release. 2007-11-20. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2007/11/20_steelelectricferriesoutofservice.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
- ↑ ASSOCIATED PRESS. "Gregoire announcing ferry plan Thursday". Seattle PI. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_wa_ferry_budget.html. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
- ↑ "Senate Bill 6794" (pdf). State of Washington. 2008-01-31. http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2007-08/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Bills/6794-S.pdf.
- ↑ "Governor Gregoire signs legislation authorizing new ferry construction". State of Washington, Office of Governor Chris Gregoire. 2008-02-14. http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/news-view.asp?pressRelease=790&newsType=1.
- ↑ John Gillie and Rob Tucker. "Here, try a loaner from us". Tacoma News Tribune. http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/229298.html. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
- ↑ Susan Gilmore. "State rejects Todd shipyards' ferry bid". The Seattle Times Co.. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004324843_webtodd03m.html. Retrieved 2007-04-03.
External links
- Washington State Ferries class information
- Washington State Ferries history
- Past vessels of the Washington State Ferry system at evergreenfleet.com
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