EVERETT — Four years after it was decommissioned, a state ferry has found a new home in Everett.
Everett Ship Repair, which maintains and repairs vessels in the Port of Everett, purchased the ferry from Washington State Ferries for $100,000. It will be used as a floating office and warehouse space at the company’s shipyard, the Department of Transportation said in a press release.
The 144-car ferry, Elwha, was built in 1968. It served the now-closed route between Anacortes and Sidney, British Columbia, until it was decommissioned in 2020. The international route will be closed until at least the spring of 2030, according to the Department of Transportation.
“The Elwha has been part of Washington State Ferry history since 1968, and we’re excited to see one of our ferries with so much history and memories for millions of passengers is being repurposed locally,” said Washington State Ferries Assistant Secretary Steve Nevey in a press release. “It won’t be the Elwha we’ve all come to know and appreciate but I’m confident it’s in good hands with a local shipyard.”
Elwha was one of four Super-class ferries built in the late 1960s. Two are still in operation, the Kaleetan and Yakima. The other remaining Super-class ferry, the Hyak, is one of two ferries, along with the Klahowya, which are still for sale.
A prospective buyer planned to purchase the Elwha and Klahowya last August, but a malfunction of tow equipment led to Washington State Ferries severing its contract with the buyer due to “multiple failures to meet contractual obligations and deadlines,” Nevey said at the time.
Washington State Ferries hopes to sell its two remaining decommissioned ferries to free up dock space at its Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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