Washington State Ferries chief Mike Anderson today announced he is retiring as head of the nation’s largest ferry system.
“I’ve been thinking about it for some time. I have 34 years in the ferry system and that is a long, long time,” he said.
Anderson, 52, said he expects to remain on the job until the end of the year and hopes to remain involved in the maritime industry. He was tapped for the top ferry job in 2004 by then-Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald.
The state’s new Secretary of Transportation, Paula Hammond, praised Anderson in a prepared statement.
“Congratulations to Mike, and many thanks for his decades of service,” she said. “We will greatly miss his experience, expertise and leadership. We”re poised to make some major decisions about ferries, and we have much work ahead. Fortunately, Mike has set us on the right course.”
The ferry system has struggled in recent years with increasing ridership, financial challenges and slow progress on replacing aging vessels. Four of the fleet’s 80-year-old Steel Electric class boats are the oldest ferries operating in salt water in the U.S.
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