Ferry serving San Juans needs repairs to hull corrosion

SEATTLE -- Another one of Washington's oldest ferries is headed to the dock for repairs after a series of stepped-up inspections found corrosion in its hull.

The Evergreen State, which has been providing service on the inter-island route in the San Juan Islands, will head toward the shipyard Jan. 16 so it can receive maintenance and repairs, Washington State Ferries announced today. Service will instead be provided by the Hiyu, the smallest car ferry in the state's fleet.

"The Evergreen State needs both main engines overhauled and other long-overdue maintenance, including steel replacement along the hull," Paul Brodeur, director of vessel maintenance and preservation, said in a prepared statement. “It is one of the oldest vessels in the fleet and we must complete this work to ensure its ongoing safety and reliability.”

The Evergreen State has been in service for 53 years. In late December, the Coast Guard ordered additional inspection for the Evergreen State and one other ferry to test thickness of hull steel after substantial corrosion was found. The examination came after the Coast Guard ordered a dozen ferries inspected after the state's 80-year-old Steel Electric-class boats were pulled from service Nov. 20 and retired.

The Steel Electrics had been the oldest ferries operating on salt water in the nation. When repair work was halted on the Quinault, crews had determined that at least 45 percent of the hull needed to be replaced, ferry officials said. Another Steel Electric-class ferry, the Illahee, had been providing ferry service in the San Juan Islands prior to being pulled from service in November.

The Evergreen State carries 87 cars; the Hiyu just 34. The Evergreen State may be out of service into March, ferries officials said.

“We know this will be an inconvenience to our customers and we are doing everything we can to complete this necessary maintenance quickly,” said Traci Brewer-Rogstad, deputy executive director at the ferry system. “We plan to closely monitor traffic and to adjust schedules if necessary to accommodate inter-island traffic.”

The Hiyu, which has two separate passenger cabins and no elevator, was the inter-island vessel in the summers of 1986 and 1988 and in the Fall/Winter/Spring schedules of 1990-1998 on the San Juan Islands route before becoming a relief vessel. The vessel has been used throughout the system to fill in for vessels that are out for maintenance and repairs.