Ferry Salish in Everett for final work, but its route is uncertain

EVERETT — The state’s newest ferry, the Salish, was towed to Everett on Monday to receive its finishing touches.

As the 64-vehicle vessel has its deck covering, furniture and other interior features installed ove

r the next couple of months, elected officials will debate just where the boat will carry passengers.

The Salish was originally pegged to serve as a second boat in the summer on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route and during the winter in the San Juan Islands. Gov. Chris Gregoire’s budget for the next two years, however, does not have a second boat on the Coupeville route and would have the Salish in the San Juan Islands year-round.

Her budget also would take a yet-to-be-named, 144-vehicle boat out of service to cut down on costs.

These cuts in service, along with other measures are aimed at starting to make up a projected $900 million shortfall for the ferry system over the next 10 years.

Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, chairwoman of the state Senate Transportation Committee, has said that if cuts are needed, they should come from somewhere else.

The Port Townsend-Coupeville route had two boats running during the summer for years until 2007, when the aging ferries on the route, Steel Electrics, were pulled from service when they were found to be unsafe.

The three ferries in the Steel Electric class, built in the 1920s, were pulled off the waters following an investigation by The Herald that found the vessels were being used to carry passengers despite extensive corrosion and cracking in the hulls. The vessels did not meet federal standards in place since the 1950s.

The route had no service at all for two months, and then only one smaller boat — the 54-vehicle Steilacoom on loan from Pierce County — for nearly three years. The new, 64-vehicle Chetzemoka began sailing the route in November.

“I’m going to fight to make sure the people who were severely impacted aren’t going to take all the cuts,” said Haugen, whose district includes Whidbey Island.

After the Salish is outfitted at Everett Shipyards, it’s scheduled for sea trials in April, delivery in May and to begin service in the summer.

It’s being built along with the Kennewick, another 64-vehicle boat, for a combined $136.3 million. The Kennewick is scheduled to start service in early 2012 on the Point Defiance-Tahlequah route in the south Puget Sound area.

Deployment of the Salish won’t be determined until lawmakers hammer out their budgets.

At this stage, no lawmaker is publicly suggesting the Salish be deployed anywhere other than the Port Townsend-Coupeville run.

“We’ve always intended that boat to be there. That’s been our plan,” said Rep. Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, chairwoman of the House Transportation Committee. “I say stick to the plan we’ve made.”

However, she and other lawmakers with ferry service in their districts are not sure how to fill the budget gap without any of the service cuts proposed by Gregoire.

“We’re looking for alternative sources of savings so we can keep the services as is,” said Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor. “My view and the view of the Ferry Community Partnership is that we are trying to avoid these service cuts and keep that boat on its planned route.”

The Ferry Community Partnership is an advisory group made up of legislators, elected officials from ferry communities and other volunteers.

With the state’s “old and fragile” fleet, the Salish will be a welcome addition as a potential backup boat, Seaquist said. “That new boat is going to be a very useful to help the system avoid breakdowns.”

Taking the larger boat out of service could mean the Salish is not available for backup service elsewhere if needed.

“It doesn’t make much sense to take one boat out of service,” Haugen said.

The 144-vehicle boat would be tied up with no deck crew and a very limited number of engine room crew, said Ray Deardorf, director of planning for the ferry system.

A minimal engine room staff would keep the vessel maintained enough so that it can be brought back into service if needed, through not instantly, Deardorf said.

Fares cover only about 70 percent of the ferries’ operating costs. The state is borrowing $44 million from other accounts to support the ferry system through the first half of 2013, Gregoire said.

The governor’s proposed ferry budget of roughly $440 million also includes raising fares by 10 percent in the next two years, adding a surcharge for fuel, and reducing the number of daily sailings.

This comes after the state has already made cuts in the system and raised fares 2.5 percent.

Haugen said the Salish might have to have a shorter summer season on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route because of the budget cuts, but she’s not willing to give it up altogether.

“We have to wait until the session’s over before anything happens,” she said.

“Salish” refers to the Coast Salish Indian tribes of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia and is also the geographical name of the inland marine sea comprised of Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Georgia Strait, and Puget and Possession sounds.

Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.