Expect longer wait times: Washington ferries to use smaller-capacity vessels after boat fire

Those planning on taking the ferry on five key Puget Sound routes should be prepared for longer wait times into the early summer.

Washington State Ferries (WSF) announced last week that it would be forced to make service changes on several routes after an engine room fire took the MV Wenatchee out of service in late April. The loss of the 202-vehicle vessel combined with staffing challenges and both scheduled and unplanned maintenance on other ships will have "cascading effects" across the entire system as spring and summer travel picks up.

With work being done on five vessels, including the Wenatchee, only 16 ferries will be in service until at least late June. WSF usually needs 17-18 vessels this time of year according to spokesperson Justin Fujioka, and 19 are needed at the peak of summer travel in Puget Sound. 

To maintain service, several routes will be downsized to smaller-sized vessels or see one fewer vessel than normal on sailings, meaning longer wait times.

"All of these changes are likely to add to wait times for people driving onto a ferry on these routes," Fujioka said. "Customers may reduce or eliminate wait times by walking on the ferry, and travelling early in the morning or late in the evening."

The Seattle/Bainbridge route will operate either the 188-vehicle Walla Walla, 144-vehicle Kaleetan or 124-vehicle Issaquah through at least July 25 instead of the Wenatchee. The Mukilteo/Clinton route will also use a smaller, 124-vehicle vessel (either the Kittitas or Chelan) for most of the summer. 

The Seattle/Bremerton route will begin using the slower and smaller Salish, which holds 64 vehicles, starting May 14 and will also cancel an early afternoon roundtrip given the slower speed. The decision to temporarily downsize a vessel was based on the slower recovery of ridership on the route compared to others.

The Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth won't see three-boat service restored until at least June 7. However, those traveling from Seattle-Southworth do have the option of using the new passenger-only fast ferry, which has an estimated travel time of 26 minutes. 

Two-boat service on the Port Townsend/Coupeville route has also been delayed until June 27.

All other sailings will continue to operate as normal, although Fujioka noted that the system is still not operating at pre-pandemic levels. Final round trips at the end of each sailing day remain suspended for the Seattle/Bainbridge, Seattle/Bremerton and Mukilteo/Clinton routes. Weekend final round trips and early morning service on other routes also remain suspended.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, ferry ridership has declined to its lowest level in 50 years, plunging by 10 million customers in 2020 compared to the previous year.

While the reduced schedules reflect that ridership has not fully recovered from pandemic lows, it is also indicative of the age of the state's fleet and under investment in preservation: no new ferries were built between 2000-2010, and two boats (Elwha and Hyak) were retired in the past two years due to high maintenance costs.

Single-vehicle riders should also expect fares to be slightly higher as annual peak season surcharges went into effect on May 1. Fares can be calculated here.