Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • For old ferries, it's the end of the line 11/20/08 • State asks for bids for new ferries for the Whidbey Island to Port Townsend run 9/11/08 • Ferries could be sold for scrap 6/4/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, August 15, 2008 Shipbuilder can't sue state over ferry bids By Scott North Herald Writer SEATTLE -- A federal lawsuit brought by a shipbuilder who grew disenchanted with the state's glacial progress on developing new ferries was dismissed Thursday by a federal judge. Tacoma's J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. was unable to convince U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour that it had legal grounds for a case. Martinac has an interest in winning ferry-construction contracts, and its interests were protected by an administrative appeals process, "but when the bidder's interest in compensation and the public's interest in protecting the public purse collide, it is the bidder's interests that must give," the judge wrote. Martinac brought the 2006 lawsuit out of frustration with the ferry system's handling of long-delayed construction contracts for new boats. The shipbuilder alleged ferry officials cost the company millions of dollars and engaged in conduct that amounted to civil racketeering in how it earlier managed competition for boat-building contracts. A key Martinac allegation -- hotly disputed by the state -- was that ferry officials ­deliberately delayed construction of new boats because of tax shelter agreements reached with private investors in the 1980s, and secured by continued operation of four 1927-vintage Steel Electric-class vessels. Martinac attorney Jed Powell said an appeal is planned, and that dismissing the case before evidence could be aired "offends the notion of justice." "Martinac's lawsuit was the catalyst for the few positive changes we have seen" in the ferry system, Powell said. State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond pulled the Steel Electrics in November, citing safety concerns about corrosion and cracks in their 80-year-old hulls. For years, Martinac had been arguing that the aging ferries were dangerously past their prime. Despite the lawsuit, Martinac is among a consortium of shipyards the state has tapped to build up to six new ferries. Ferry officials were pleased with the ruling and hopeful that it helps clear the way for Martinac and other shipbuilders to build new boats, said Marta Coursey, communications director for the ferry system. "They are fully at the table and engaged and very interested in building new boats as well," she said. Reporter Scott North: 425-339-3431 or north@heraldnet.com.

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