Normal schedule resumes for most Washington State Ferry routes after weekend of cancelations

After a weekend of reduced sailings and long wait times due to staffing shortage, Washington State Ferries (WSF) said it had resumed normal schedules on most routes Monday. 

However, the agency struggled to get that message out after the Washington State Department of Transportation's (WSDOT) website, cameras and mobile app all went down late Sunday night. The outage has persisted into Monday morning, although coverage is slowly coming back up.

The only route not operating on its normal fall schedule Monday is the Seattle/Bremerton route, which remains on one-boat service. The Seattle/Bainbridge, Edmonds/Kingston and Mukilteo/Clinton routes all resumed two-boat service Monday on their normal schedule. The Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth had three vessels Monday, while the Port Townsend/Coupeville had one boat.

The Anacortes/San Juan route, which saw numerous cancelations last week due to a lack of crew on the #1 Chelan, was running with four boats. The Point Defiance/Tahlequah route, which was completely out of service last week due to mechanical problems, resumed its normal one-boat service Monday morning, according to a tweet from WSF.

The staffing shortage has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and staff quarantines. But officials also emphasize they have had trouble hiring qualified crew. WSF said in a tweet Friday that it had hired over 100 new crewmembers in 2021.

"Like many industries, the maritime sector, both locally and internationally, is facing a shortage of experienced employees and many marine transportation systems are dealing with a staffing shortfall," said said WSF Assistant Secretary Patty Rubstello in September. "We continue to recruit new employees, but we’re struggling to find qualified mariners."

It is unclear how the staffing shortage will be impacted by the upcoming vaccine mandate for state workers, which will take effect Oct. 18 and could put more strain on staffing levels. Employees could face "non-disciplinary dismissal" for failure to meet job requirement if they cannot show proof of vaccination.

The state's ferry fleet was already stretched thin over the high-volume summer months and forced to use smaller-sized vessels after the Wenatchee, which can hold 202 vehicles, was taken out of service following an engine room fire in April. The loss of the larger vessel had "cascading effects" across the entire ferry system, leading to reduced service and longer wait times for riders.