Transport company Washington State Ferries (WSF) will no longer proceed with the earlier announced sale of two of its decommissioned vessels, the company said in a statement on Friday, September 6.
In August, vessel owner Nelson Armas attempted to move the ferries Elwha and Klahowya to Ecuador, but tow equipment malfunctioned in Puget Sound. Both ferries were returned to WSF’s Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility on Bainbridge Island.
“It’s in the best interest of Washington state, the public, and WSF to sever ties due to multiple failures to meet contractual obligations and deadlines,” said WSF Assistant Secretary Steve Nevey.
WSF said it was not made aware of the concerns raised by the crew of the tug Wycliffe regarding poor living conditions and fear of intimidation until they were reported in the media. Armas, the owner of the tug, has denied these reports.
WSF added that other potential buyers have already shown interest, and the company has begun engaging with these possible new owners.
WSF still owns Elwha and Klahowya because they were not removed by the deadline mandated in the purchase and sales agreements. Under default terms of the contracts, Armas forfeits the US$200,000 (US$100,000 per vessel) paid for the boats as damages.
WSF has used some of those funds to cover costs for removing leftover fuel from the ferries. The balance of those funds will be transferred into the Puget Sound Ferry Operations Account, which is consistent with past sales of retired vessels.
The sale of Hyak, a third decommissioned state ferry, is pending. More information will be provided when that transaction is finalised.
WSF hopes to sell and transfer these retired ferries to free more dock space at its Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility for planned and unplanned maintenance on its current fleet.
The 144-car Elwha and Hyak are two of four Super-class ferries built in the mid-1960s. Elwha mainly served the Anacortes/Friday Harbor/Sidney, British Columbia route before being retired on April 8, 2020. Hyak, which was decommissioned June 30, 2019, was primarily used on the Seattle/Bremerton route and is now docked at Kingston terminal.
The final two Super-class ferries, Kaleetan and Yakima, are still in service.
Built in 1958, the 87-car, Evergreen State-class Klahowya mainly served the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route. It moved to the San Juan Islands interisland run in 2014. When Klahowya was decommissioned July 1, 2017, sister ship Tillikum replaced it on the route.