OLYMPIA -- Start spreading the news: The Steel Electrics are sold.
Well, almost sold.
Washington State Ferries and Environmental Recycling Systems of Seattle have reached a tentative deal that could fetch the state up to $700,000 for the venerable quartet of ferries.
"They are not sold yet," ferries communication manager Marta Coursey said. "We have a viable proposal. We're very confident this plan is going to move forward."
No deadline has been set for signing a final agreement.
As it stands now, the state will get $500,000 plus 10 percent of whatever Environmental Recycling Systems makes from dismantling and selling the boats for scrap. Based on the firm's estimate of its potential take, the state could receive another $200,000, Coursey said.
That sum is about half what state ferry officials initially hoped to net. Maritime experts told them before the ferries first went on sale in July that each one might bring in $475,000 if sold as scrap.
Coursey said those figures presumed competition for the boats, which never materialized.
On July 16, the state placed the Nisqually, Quinault, Illahee and Klickitat for sale online with a minimum bid of $350,000 per vessel. No bidders or buyers surfaced on eBay for the 81-year-old vessels.
"We tried twice to sell them online. We have exhausted all options. This is good news for the state," she said.
Environmental Recycling Systems intends to tow the boats to Ecomar Ship Recycling in Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico. The firm must pay the costs of getting the boats to Mexico.
Before they can be taken, the state must complete tasks such as removing oil and fuel. And, Coursey said, the U.S. Coast Guard must inspect and approve the transporting of the boats.
The four Steel Electrics have been in dry-dock since November 2007 when Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond ordered them out of service because of concerns about the integrity of the ferry hulls.
That decision initially ended two-boat service on the route linking Keystone on Whidbey Island and Port Townsend. Since January, a vessel rented from Pierce County has operated on the route.
Bids are now being solicited to build two new ferries for that route.
