Published: Thursday, April 2, 2009
For scrap or not, old ferries must go
SEATTLE -- Slow progress on a proposal to spare Washington's oldest ferries from the scrap heap has ferry officials again looking for options to get rid of the octogenarian boats.
The state needs to free up limited maintenance and repair space at Eagle Harbor, which is now occupied by the retired Steel Electric-class vessels, said Marta Coursey, communications director for the ferry system.
The ferry system urgently needs the moorage space for work on boats actively being used in the fleet, she said.
Managing Green LLC, a Tacoma real estate development firm, in February made a bid to purchase all four Steel Electrics for a total price of $650,000. The Tacoma company still is looking for moorage locations. It wants to keep the 81-year-old Klickitat, Illahee, Quinault and Nisqually intact and use them as floating waterfront space for businesses. That's already happened to a sister ferry, the Enetai, now called the Santa Rosa, which is moored in San Francisco.
On Tuesday, however, state officials spoke with Environmental Recycling Systems. It earlier had lined up a deal to scrap the vessels in a Mexican ship-breaking yard, a plan that was put on hold, however, because of declining steel prices.
The recycling company now is preparing two new proposals, expected within a week, Coursey said. One plan would still see the vessels scrapped. The alternate would move the boats out of the U.S. for potential operation in foreign waters.
The old ferries can't return to service in the U.S. because they do not meet Coast Guard standards for watertight compartments. Repeated engineering studies had earlier determined that trying to upgrade them is not economically practical.
The Steel Electrics were retired in November 2007 amid questions about cracks, leaks and corrosion in their hulls.
Ferry officials have made clear to both companies interested in the old boats that getting them out of Eagle Harbor is the top priority, Coursey said.
The state needs to free up limited maintenance and repair space at Eagle Harbor, which is now occupied by the retired Steel Electric-class vessels, said Marta Coursey, communications director for the ferry system.
The ferry system urgently needs the moorage space for work on boats actively being used in the fleet, she said.
Managing Green LLC, a Tacoma real estate development firm, in February made a bid to purchase all four Steel Electrics for a total price of $650,000. The Tacoma company still is looking for moorage locations. It wants to keep the 81-year-old Klickitat, Illahee, Quinault and Nisqually intact and use them as floating waterfront space for businesses. That's already happened to a sister ferry, the Enetai, now called the Santa Rosa, which is moored in San Francisco.
On Tuesday, however, state officials spoke with Environmental Recycling Systems. It earlier had lined up a deal to scrap the vessels in a Mexican ship-breaking yard, a plan that was put on hold, however, because of declining steel prices.
The recycling company now is preparing two new proposals, expected within a week, Coursey said. One plan would still see the vessels scrapped. The alternate would move the boats out of the U.S. for potential operation in foreign waters.
The old ferries can't return to service in the U.S. because they do not meet Coast Guard standards for watertight compartments. Repeated engineering studies had earlier determined that trying to upgrade them is not economically practical.
The Steel Electrics were retired in November 2007 amid questions about cracks, leaks and corrosion in their hulls.
Ferry officials have made clear to both companies interested in the old boats that getting them out of Eagle Harbor is the top priority, Coursey said.
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