MV Tokitae

Last updated
Tokitae.jpg
Tokitae en route from Clinton to Mukilteo, 2015
History
NameTokitae
Owner Washington State Department of Transportation
Operator Washington State Ferries
Port of registrySeattle, Washington, United States
Ordered2011
Builder Vigor Shipyards, Seattle, Washington
Cost$144 million [1]
Laid downMarch 29, 2012
LaunchedJuly 19, 2013
ChristenedMarch 20, 2014
Maiden voyageJune 30, 2014
In serviceJune 30, 2014
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics
Class & type Olympic-class auto/passenger ferry
Displacement4,384  LT (4,454 t)
Length362 ft 3 in (110.4 m)
Beam83 ft 2 in (25.3 m)
Draft18 ft (5.5 m)
Depth24 ft 6 in (7.5 m)
Decks5 (2 vehicle decks, passenger deck, sun deck, nav bridge deck)
Deck clearance16 ft (4.9 m)
Installed power6,000 hp (4,500 kW) total from two EMD 12-710G7C diesel engines
PropulsionDiesel
Speed17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Capacity
  • 1,500 passengers
  • 144 vehicles (max 34 tall vehicles)
Crew14 (12 with sun deck closed)

MV Tokitae is an Olympic-class passenger ferry operated by Washington State Ferries which entered service on June 30, 2014. It serves the Mukilteo-Clinton route.

Contents

Naming

On November 13, 2012, the Washington State Transportation Commission named the ferry Tokitae. Tokitae is a colloquial greeting that means "nice day, pretty colors" in Chinook Jargon. [2]

MV Tokitae en route to Clinton, Whidbey Island. M-V Tokitae in Possesion Sound.jpg
MV Tokitae en route to Clinton, Whidbey Island.

Tokitae was also the earliest name of an orca that had been captured in Penn Cove, Whidbey Island. Jesse White, the veterinarian who bought the captured orca in Seattle for the Miami Seaquarium, gave her that name, but she was renamed Lolita in Miami. Orca Network promoted the choice of Tokitae for the ferry under construction, to promote the cause of returning the captive orca to her natal waters, [3] and the Washington state government was sympathetic. The ferry's route crosses a passage where the orca and her orca community were chased during her capture. [2] [4] [5]

MV Tokitae departing Mukilteo M-V Tokitae Departing Mukilteo.jpg
MV Tokitae departing Mukilteo

History

Construction

MV Tokitae's superstructure arriving at Vigor Shipyards in March 2013 Tokitae under construction at Vigor.jpg
MV Tokitae's superstructure arriving at Vigor Shipyards in March 2013

The contracts for the Tokitae were signed on November 1, 2011, [6] and its keel was laid on March 29, 2012. [7]

The Tokitae's hull was rolled out of the Vigor construction building onto a drydock on March 2, 2013. It was joined by the completed superstructure the following week; it was built by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Freeland, a community on Whidbey Island. [8]

The ferry was floated out of its dry dock and launched in Elliott Bay on July 19, 2013. [9] The Tokitae was christened by state Secretary of Transportation Lynn Peterson on March 20, 2014 at Vigor, during a ceremony opened to the media, officials and workers. [10]

Launch and early problems

The official public unveiling occurred on June 8, 2014, at the Clinton ferry terminal. [11] The ferry made its maiden voyage on June 30, 2014. [12] The Tokitae's first week of service was marred by a hydraulic leak and a design flaw that caused cars to scrape against the car ramps. [13] In the vessel's first 13 months it lost propulsion a total of 18 times. [14]

References

  1. ↑ "Olympic Class (144-Car) Ferries". Washington State Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Two new ferries named Samish, Tokitae". The Everett Herald. Associated Press. November 13, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  3. ↑ Garrett, Howard (November 14, 2012). "Lolita Update #130". Orca Network. Freeland, Washington . Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  4. ↑ Colby, Jason M. (2018). Orca: how we came to know and love the ocean's greatest predator. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 308. ISBN   9780190673116.
  5. ↑ "Clinton Ferry Schedule 2023". Clinton Ferry Schedule. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  6. ↑ Moseley, David (November 4, 2011). "Construction to start on new 144-car ferry" (PDF) (Press release). Washington State Ferries. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  7. ↑ Moseley, David (March 30, 2012). "144-car ferry milestone" (PDF) (Press release). Washington State Ferries. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Nichols Brothers Boat Builders Launch 144-Car Washington State Ferry Superstructure" (PDF) (Press release). Nichols Brothers Boat Builders. March 12, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  9. ↑ Friedrich, Ed (October 19, 2013). "Smoother sailing on construction of 144-car ferries". Kitsap Sun . Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  10. ↑ Van Bronkhorst, Erin (March 20, 2014). "State's newest ferry, Tokitae, is christened at Seattle shipyard". Puget Sound Business Journal . Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  11. ↑ Haglund, Noah (June 8, 2014). "Whidbey Island welcomes new ferry Tokitae". The Everett Herald. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  12. ↑ Friedrich, Ed (June 30, 2014). "Tokitae begins service this week with problematic ramps". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  13. ↑ Provenza, Nick (July 1, 2014). "Some cars scrape on new Washington ferry Tokitae". The Columbian . Associated Press. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  14. ↑ Horcher, Gary (April 15, 2015). "Ferry Tokitae loses power with 173 passengers on board". KIRO 7 News . Retrieved September 10, 2016.
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