State ferry system challenged by aging fleet, funding source

PAULA HAMMOND AND DAVID H. MOSELEY

In response to the recent coverage of Washington State Ferries in The News Tribune, we want to share our challenges to maintain the state’s marine highway system and the efforts we are making to meet those challenges moving for-ward.

A major challenge is replacing our aging fleet. The average age of the operating fleet is 35 years old. Our oldest vessel is the Rhododendron, which was built in 1947. It serves the Point Defiance-Tahlequah route.

With the retirement of the 1927-built Steel Electric ferries in late 2007, we learned our lesson that these vessels do not last forever and that we must retire and replace our vessels when their useful life is over.

We are beginning to meet this challenge with construction of our first new ferry in more than a decade. Todd Pacific Shipyards is presently constructing the first new 64-car ferry and will build two additional 64-car ferries for the system. The first ferry is scheduled to go into service on the Port Townsend-Keystone route in the late summer of 2010, with the second and third ferries coming online in 2011 and 2012.

We’ve achieved significant cost efficiencies with the second and third ferries, thanks, in part, to a streamlined construction management process.

Another challenge facing the ferry system is responding to the U.S. Coast Guard crew endurance requirements to combat crew fatigue.

During the last year, we worked collaboratively with our employees to meet these new requirements, which necessitated a rework of crewing and sailing schedules. We were able to achieve this milestone within the existing budget and in large part without a loss of service to our customers.

In some places, we even managed to improve service. For example, the Point Defiance-Tahlequah route benefited from the addition of two round-trip sailings, and the Bremerton-Seattle route benefited from the addition of one round-trip sailing.

The most formidable challenge facing the ferry system is a lack of a sustainable funding source. The long-range plan identifies a $3 billion gap over the next 20 years. During this time, we have to replace nine vessels just to keep service where it is today.

We’ve tightened our belt at the ferry system by reducing staff and expenditures where possible, and we continue to seek efficiencies throughout the system.

This is where we need to come together. We have great appreciation for every one of our customers and everyone who has welcomed us during the last year at more than 50 community meetings. Their suggestions, concerns and comments have helped shape many of the decisions made recently at the ferry system, including the long-range plan.

We now need to work with our ferry-served communities, the governor and legislators to secure a financially sustainable future for the ferry system on which nearly 23 million people depend each year.

Paula Hammond is secretary of the state Department of Transportation. David H. Moseley is assistant secretary of transportation, Ferries Division

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