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Our ferry system is in serious trouble. Chronic crew shortages, too few boats and increasing breakdowns led to over 3,500 canceled sailings in 2023. Washington State Ferries’ plan to solve this debacle relies on new boat deliveries and a slow program of crew advancement. This leaves our system with only marginal improvement until at least 2028.
In the meantime, 19 million passengers will be stuck with an unreliable service. We need both leadership and governance changes to save our sinking ferries.
How did we get here?
Inadequate crewing
WSF’s cumbersome advancement system favors insiders and erects barriers to hiring experienced mariners. Union contracts make it difficult to shift crew to where they’re needed. Failure to address the “silver tsunami” of retirements, 120 terminations, related resignations and the loss of experienced Eagle Harbor workers has exacerbated the problem.
In 2023, WSF had 1,560 annual crew cancellations while scheduling only 70% of its regular service. By contrast, BC Ferries had 73 crew cancellations while scheduling 100% of its regular service.
Delayed replacement vessels
In 2007, WSF had planned to transition the fleet to standard 144-car boats that could serve on any route. Political decisions derailed that plan, choosing to first build three small and slow 64-car boats, which are of limited use on routes other than Port Townsend and Point Defiance, and then building only four 144-car “Olympic Class” boats by 2018.
In 2020, the governor’s executive order effectively halted the 144-car build program, requiring a switch to a new hybrid-electric design. The first of these new boats is expected in 2028, at best. By contrast, BC Ferries has acquired five new hybrids in less time than it’s taken WSF to go out for bid. BC’s cost per car space has been about one-half of WSF’s.
Inadequate maintenance
Regular ferry maintenance has averaged about 50% of what’s required. The backlog has grown as failures on boats, both old and new, take those boats offline for repairs, further delaying scheduled maintenance on other boats.
Based on the false assumption that new replacements would soon arrive, older boats like Hyak and Elwha have been retired instead of repaired. The fleet has fallen well below the number needed.
The ferry system now acknowledges that “full” service will not be possible until the end of the decade, at best.
To salvage the system, both leadership and governance must change.
WSF has been run by directors who lack maritime and ferry system experience and who move on before solving the underlying problems. Our system is too complex for an inexperienced director. Solving challenges will require an organization that enables WSF to succeed.
The Passenger Vessel Association WSF Governance Study (2010) analyzed and highlighted six alternate governance models for further consideration by our state, recommending “that the State consider studying its ferry governance model to determine if opportunities exist for positive change” — but nothing has changed.
Of those alternatives, the BC Ferries model seems best suited for our needs.
Twenty-two years ago, a BC Ferries failure brought down the government. BC Ferries is now governed by an independent board. Their structure has reduced political influence and increased accountability. We believe that adopting this model would:
· Accelerate the solutions to address the critical short-term challenges of crew shortages, vessel repair and replacement;
· Distance decisions from political influence;
· Prioritize riders’ needs;
· Increase public transparency, participation, and accountability for key decisions;
· Lead to consistent, service-oriented long-range plans;
· Include clear service delivery specifications and reporting;
· Be nimble to sustain service when conditions inevitably change.
Our state’s legislative and executive branches should immediately join forces to remake the governance structure for WSF, using BC Ferries as the model.
Is WSF’s condition grave enough for our state’s leaders to make a governance leap? We say it is.
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