Weekly update

Read the weekly update from WSDOT Deputy Secretary Steve Nevey, head of Washington State Ferries.

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Each January, there is a special edition recapping the previous year. View the 2025 Year in Review (PDF 556KB).

Here is the latest edition of the WSF Weekly Update:

Oct. 29, 2026

A message from Steve

I’m proud to share that Washington State Ferries has been named a 2026 Center of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration. This national recognition highlights the work our Training Team and employees across the system do to build the next generation of maritime professionals.

Since 2022, we’ve hired and trained 324 ordinary seafarers, 140 wipers and oilers, and 345 terminal attendants. With hands-on training, mentorship, and experience, entry-level folks can open doors to new skills, greater responsibility, and long-term careers. I have been honored to help steer WSF towards building better career pipelines to help fill the senior positions most at risk in the fleet. We have introduced several programs, the Able-bodied Sailor to Mate, the WSF/MITAGS Apprenticeship and the engine room internship to name a few, to help new and tenured staff advance their careers at WSF.

Four WSF Employees in firefighting gear gather for instruction. — Chief Mate Chloe Cox teaches Basic Fire Fighting to deck and engine room employees. Hands-on training helps employees build the skills they need to work safely and advance their maritime careers.

Our 93% employee retention rate and 98.9% training completion rate demonstrate the value of investing in our people. From safety and technical skills to vessel operations and leadership, our training programs help employees develop the expertise and confidence they need to do their jobs safely. This honor belongs to our Training Team as well as the instructors, mentors and everyone across WSF who helps employees learn and grow. I’m proud of their work and the role we play in strengthening Washington’s local maritime workforce.

Seven men and women stand for a group photo on a sunny day with Eagle Harbor behind them. — Some of our incredible training team members pose for a group photo during an exercise. From left to right, Captain Gene Parini, Assistant Engineer Chris Beall, Chief Mate Josh Perry, Oiler Julie Connelly, Captain Mike Edwards, Captain Graham Dewitt, and Chief Mate Chloe Cox.

The Weekly Update wins national award

This newsletter, "The Weekly Update," was recently named the top external publication by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Its Committee on Transportation Communications (TransComm), recognizes the best communications and marketing work from state transportation agencies each year. AASHTO TransComm brings together communications professionals from all 50 state departments of transportation, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. The 2026 awards were recently presented at the group’s annual meeting in San Diego. It’s a great honor for WSF and I appreciate my communications team who develop this newsletter every week.

Four WSF employees gather and meet onboard a WSF passenger area. — External Relations Department employees Brian Vail (middle right) and Paco AlfaroZierten (far right) share information out in the fleet. The External Relations team, which includes Communications, helps bring customers clear, timely information about ferry service, operations and projects.

SR 536 Skagit River Bridge to fully close Nov. 1

Starting next week, one route to the Anacortes Ferry Terminal will be temporarily closed. Beginning at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, both lanes of the State Route 536 Skagit River/Division Street Bridge in Mount Vernon will be closed to speed up construction and finish the preservation project sooner. Weather permitting, this work will take two weeks. During this time, travelers will need to detour using I-5 and SR 20. For more information about this closure, how public input impacted this decision, and other emergency plans, please check out this WSDOT Blog article.

Map shows detour using I-5 and SR 20 during full closure of SR 536 Skagit River Bridge in Mount Vernon. — Travelers to and from the Anacortes Ferry Terminal will need to use SR 20 and I-5 to avoid the closure on the Skagit River Bridge.

Winter vehicle reservation release rescheduled to Nov. 10

This week, to accommodate reservation adjustments during major terminal work in the San Juans and Coupeville in February and March, we had to postpone the winter schedule vehicle reservation release until Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. This delay allowed our team to ensure that the upcoming terminal closures to upgrade some of our vehicle transfer spans would be reflected in all reservations. We are sorry for the inconvenience this causes those who had planned on making reservations this week. Please plan on Nov. 10th for the updated vehicle reservation release date.

A terminal employee shoves snow off the transfer span at the Orcas Island Ferry Terminal. — The Orcas Island Terminal (pictured) will have a full 48-hour closure on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 9-10. There will be no available vehicle reservations during this time and during the other location closures.

End of daylight-saving time and our schedules

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. The full sailing day of Saturday, Oct. 31, will start and end on Pacific Daylight Time. Terminals and vessels will turn their clocks back one hour after the end of the full Saturday sailing schedule. The sailing day starting on Sunday, Nov. 1, will be on Pacific Standard Time.

Sailing stats for week of Oct. 19-25

For the week of Oct. 19-25, we completed 98.21% of our 2,850 scheduled sailings. This figure is separate from on-time performance. Of the 53 cancellations, 36 were due to vessel-related issues, seven were due to crewing, four were due to schedule resets (when a boat is so far behind schedule, we cancel a sailing to get it back on schedule, providing predictability for customers), four were due to tidal currents, and two were due to other miscellaneous reasons.

For comparison, during a similar week last year (Oct. 20-26, 2025), we completed 97.07% of our 3,003 scheduled sailings. Of the 88 cancellations, 59 were due to vessel-related issues, 11 were due to other miscellaneous reasons, seven were due to crewing, five were due to schedule resets, four were due to tidal currents, and two were due to weather.

Steve Nevey
WSDOT Deputy Secretary for Washington State Ferries

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