Weekly update

Read the weekly update WSDOT Assistant Secretary Steve Nevey, the head of Washington State Ferries, sends to staff, colleagues and stakeholders.

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Each January, there is a special edition recapping the previous year. View the 2023 Year in Review (PDF 4.7MB).

Here is the latest edition of the WSF Weekly Update:

Oct. 10, 2024

A message from Steve

As a seafarer, I’ve participated in several search and rescue operations during my time working aboard ships. There’s an unspoken bond among us; when someone is in distress, we instinctively drop everything to offer our assistance. This commitment to helping others is rooted in our deep sense of pride and professionalism. We understand the gravity of our responsibilities, not only to our crew and passengers but to anyone who may find themselves in peril at sea.

On Monday, I had the honor of recognizing members of the WSF team whose actions directly contributed to saving a life. From August 2023 to August 2024, we had eight events where, without the involvement of our deck, engine room, terminal, and dispatching staff, a person would have perished.

Steve Nevey, Gov. Inslee, and USGS Capt. McDonnell congratulate award winners — I was joined by Gov. Jay Inslee, WSDOT Secretary Roger Millar, U.S. Coast Guard Port Captain McDonnell, and WSF Senior Director of our External Affairs, John Vezina, in presenting the WSF Assistant Secretary Coin to the staff who were able to attend. I was pleased that many brought family and friends with them to this celebration.

Event speaker stands in front of podium in front of a crowd on Issaquah car deck — We hosted this recognition event aboard *Issaquah* at our Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility undergoing propulsion updates.

The dedicated professionals at Washington State Ferries extend their responsibilities beyond typical customer service; they genuinely prioritize the safety of every passenger on each ferry sailing, day in and day out. I was so pleased to recognize these individuals and highlight such an important part of our public service.

Delegation from Tasmania tours WSF

We hosted a delegation from Tasmania who are touring Washington state, in part to learn about ferry operations and our electrification program. As an island off the southern coast of Australia, Tasmania is served by a ferry which takes between 10 – 11 hours between ports! In addition to this major voyage, there are smaller ferry routes within Tasmania and a planned electric ferry route in the works. Premier Jeremy Rockliff was also pleased to see the lifeboats aboard Suquamish that are manufactured in Tasmania.

Delegation from Tasmania poses for a group photo on a ferry — Matt von Ruden, WSF System Electrification Program Administrator, led a tour aboard *Suquamish* for a delegation from Tasmania, Australia. The Premier, Jeremy Rockliff, is fifth from the left, along with several of his cabinet members. The group also learned about the Mukilteo terminal and the engagement and art works from the Tulalip and Suquamish tribes.

Hybrid Electric Battery milestone on Wenatchee

Speaking of electrification, we recently made some good progress on Wenatchee’s conversion to hybrid electric propulsion. Last weekend our team received the final shipment of Wenatchee’s new power source, the batteries, which were unloaded, tested and will be placed in climate-controlled storage until closer to delivery. The preparation of the battery rooms for installation of the battery cubicles is also nearly complete and right now our teams are installing low voltage cables throughout the ferry. For more information about recent work on the Wenatchee check out this video.

Wenatchee ferry car deck opened up for hybrid electric batteries — Battery cubicles can be seen through the car deck on *Wenatchee*.

Join in the Great Washington Shake Out

We’ll be participating in the Great Washington Shake Out, an earthquake drill, on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 10:17 a.m. We live in a region prone to seismic activity and it’s always a good idea to practice emergency readiness. If you would like to join in participating in the Great Washington Shake Out, check out the program website to find an event near you or resources to plan your own drill at work, home, or on the go.

Great Washington Shake Out graphic, stop, cover and hold on — Join us on Oct. 17 at 10:17 a.m. and drop, cover, and hold on!

Sailing stats for week of Sept. 30 to Oct. 6

For the week of Sept. 30 to Oct. 6, we completed 98.68% of our 2,795 scheduled sailings. Of our 37 cancellations, 26 were due to vessels being out of service, 10 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), and one was due to terminal maintenance. For a second week in a row, there were no cancellations due to crewing.

Customer kudos

“The ticket booth person at Southworth warned us that not only was the scheduled boat headed to Fauntleroy first but was also running 35 minutes late. He suggested that we head for a place that offered decent takeout food because dinner wasn’t going to be possible. Nice, thoughtful person.”

-Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route customer

Steve Nevey
Assistant Secretary, WSDOT/Ferries Division

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Highlights from the Gray Notebook

166,800 electric vehicle

registrations in Washington in 2023, up from 114,600 in 2022.

87 wetland compensation sites

actively monitored on 918 acres in 2023.

25,000 safe animal crossings

in the Snoqualmie Pass East Project area since 2014.