EVERETT — State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said Thursday she is moving quickly to bring new boats and new leadership to trouble-plagued Washington State Ferries.
“We are turning that ship around,” Hammond said.
The state’s new transportation chief, who officially took on her new duties last fall, said she expects by mid-February to start taking bids for building one or more new car ferries needed to replace the 80-year-old Steel Electric-class boats she ordered tied up Nov. 20.
She also is preparing to begin interviews soon among finalists for a new ferry system executive director. Whoever gets the job will preside over a review of virtually everything the ferry system does, including how it goes about planning for new boats, how many consultants it hires for advice, how it keeps vessels safely operating and how much passengers pay for trips, Hammond said.
The goal is a ferry system that is financially viable, works better with the communities it serves and is prepared for the future, “not the one that everybody loves to love because we’ve had it so long,” she said.
Hammond said Gov. Chris Gregoire has directed her to overhaul the ferry system, and she views state legislators as key partners in addressing challenges, particularly in finding a way to pay to build new boats to replace the 18 ferries that likely must be retired as the fleet ages over the next three decades.
Hammond said she never again wants the ferry system to find itself trying to keep old ferries afloat while planners are “treading water,” spending a lot of time and money designing new vessels that don’t get built.
While Hammond expects some people will leave the ferry system as she begins making changes, she added “I have just as many people cheering me on within that organization … There are good people there I really want to motivate.”
Gordon Baxter, a maritime labor lobbyist who represents all but a few dozen of the ferry’s system’s 1,600 union employees, said change is needed and Hammond appears to be making the right moves.
“I’ve been more impressed in the last few months than the last 20 years altogether,” he said. “I think that Paula Hammond has been doing a great job.”
Hammond said one change she’s already made is to insist on managing the ferry system as a division of the state transportation department. That is where the ferry system falls within the state’s organizational structure, in spite of a history of operating as a separate agency.
An engineer by training, Hammond described herself as a “get-things-done type of person.”
She surprised many on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday by ordering all the state’s 1927-vintage Steel Electric ferries tied up, citing safety concerns. The move sidelined the Klickitat, Illahee and Nisqually after widespread corrosion was found on the hull of their sister vessel, the Quinault.
The decision stopped car ferry service between Whidbey Island and Port Townsend. Ferry officials hope to begin again carrying cars, freight and passengers across Admiralty Inlet by Feb. 8. That’s when the Steilacoom II, a 54-car ferry leased from Pierce County, is expected to be on the run.
Hammond said she is optimistic the Steilacoom-class ferries will be up to the job, and she is still planning by Feb. 15 to seek bids on at least one of those boats, with slight modifications, for use by the ferry system. This winter’s test should make clear whether the state should seek more or larger vessels for the rough water run, Hammond said.
“We certainly are going to look hard, along with the legislature, on what to do,” she said.
One option not up for consideration is trying to restore one or more of the Steel Electrics to service, Hammond said.
They’re done for good.
The problems associated with the old ferries are simply too expensive to fix, regardless of how much people may love the old boats, she said.
Meanwhile, the state is looking for ideas on what to do with the boats, which were the oldest ferries operating on salt water in the nation.
Some have suggested one or more of the aged hulls could be scuttled to create an underwater park for divers. That could be costly, however, because environmental rules would first require the vessels to be cleaned of all potentially hazardous materials, said Steve Reinmuth, Hammond’s chief of staff and acting director of ferry system.
Reporter Scott North: 425-339-3431 or north@heraldnet.com.
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