The MV Walla Walla in Rich Passage | |
History | |
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Name | Walla Walla |
Owner | WSDOT |
Operator | Washington State Ferries |
Port of registry | Seattle, Washington, US |
Route | Bremerton–Seattle |
Builder | Todd Shipyard, Seattle |
Completed |
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In service | 1972 |
Identification |
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Status | In service |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Jumbo-class auto/passenger ferry |
Tonnage | |
Displacement | 4,860 long tons (4,940 t) |
Length | 440 ft (134 m) |
Beam | 87 ft (27 m) |
Draft | 18 ft (5 m) |
Decks | 4 |
Deck clearance | 15 ft 6 in (4.7 m) |
Installed power | Total 11,500 hp (8,600 kW) from 4 x diesel-electric engines |
Propulsion | diesel electric (DC) |
Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
Capacity |
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MV Walla Walla (Motor Vessel Walla Walla) is a Jumbo-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.
The Walla Walla was originally assigned to the San Juan Islands, however, in its first year of service it was reassigned to the Seattle-Bainbridge route for which ridership better aligned with the high capacity of the Jumbo-class vessels.
After being replaced on the Seattle–Winslow route by a Jumbo Mark-II-class ferry, the ship began serving as a fill-in vessel for whenever one of the larger ferries goes into scheduled maintenance periods; usually she can be found on either the Seattle–Bremerton or Edmonds–Kingston routes. [1] Occasionally the Walla Walla will still end up filling in on the Seattle–Bainbridge Island run where it spent its early years. In late July 2014, the Jumbo Mark-II-class ferry, MV Wenatchee sailed to Vancouver, British Columbia for repairs. Since Washington State Ferries had no large backup vessels, the Walla Walla once again found herself on her old run, the Seattle–Winslow route. As a result, she was the other vessel on the route on the day the MV Tacoma suffered her massive electrical failure.
On April 23, 1981, the ferry ran aground near Bainbridge Island at approximately 7:50 a.m. after heavy fog impacted the navigation of the vessel. No serious injuries were reported among the more than 600 commuters. Two tug boats attempted to pull the ferry free but were unsuccessful leading officials to wait until high tide approximately 12 hours later. Passengers walked off the vessel at approximately 10:15am onto a waiting barge and 2 tour boats. The vehicles on the boat were made available to passengers at about 7:30 p.m. [3]
In early November 2012, during routine maintenance, one of the ship's four drive motors was damaged and failed after it overheated. The ferry was removed from service while a replacement was installed. WSDOT announced that if the damaged motor could be replaced with a spare already in its warehouse, the ferry could be back into service within several months. [4] [5] The spare motor was refurbished by General Electric in Los Angeles and then installed at Vigor Shipyards. [6] The Walla Walla returned to service in April 2013. [6]
At approximately 4:30 p.m. on April 15, 2023, the ferry ran aground on a Bainbridge Island beach after a generator failure while transiting Rich Passage during a Bremerton–Seattle run. No injuries or hull damage were reported among the 596 passengers and 15 crew members. [7] All passengers were evacuated onto Kitsap Fast Ferries and returned to Bremerton within a few hours. [8] The Walla Walla was towed by tugboats back to Bremerton for inspections and to unload the 200 vehicles left onboard until the following morning. [9]
A subsequent investigation by Washington State Ferries and the U.S. Coast Guard determined that contaminated fuel had clogged filters leading into the boat's generators and caused them to shut down. The fuel contamination was caused by excessive air that entered the "two-day tank" and formed a black sludge of bacteria and fungus that clogged the filters. [10] The onboard backup generator also failed and the crew were unable to start a third generator, leaving the vessel without power. Walla Walla sustained a bent propeller and other minor damage. [11] The ferry later reentered service, but again damaged a propeller and was withdrawn for dry-docking on September 18. [12]
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals located around Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands, designated as part of the state highway system. The agency maintains a fleet of 21 vessels that are able to carry passengers and vehicles.
MV Puyallup is a Jumbo Mark-II-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries. This ferry and her two sisters are the largest in the fleet. Puyallup is normally assigned to the Edmonds–Kingston route, although she is often reassigned to the Seattle–Bainbridge Island route whenever either of her sisters assigned to that route are out of service.
The MV Tacoma is a Jumbo Mark-II-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries. Launched in 1997, it was the first in its class in the Washington State Ferries fleet. Since delivery, the Tacoma has almost exclusively been assigned to the busy Seattle–Bainbridge Island route.
The MV Wenatchee is a Jumbo Mark-II-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries. Launched in 1998, she was the second in her class in the fleet following the MV Tacoma. Since delivery, the Wenatchee has almost exclusively been assigned to the busy Seattle–Bainbridge Island route alongside the Tacoma.
The MV Spokane is a Jumbo-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries. She was built in 1972 by the Todd Shipyards in Seattle, Washington, for the Seattle–Bainbridge route. The ship remained assigned there until the construction of the Jumbo Mark-II class in the late 1990s displaced her to the Edmonds–Kingston route, where she has remained since.
MV Elwha was a Super-class ferry in the Washington State Ferry System. The 382-foot (116 m) vessel entered service in June 1968, and spent most of her career working the Anacortes-San Juan Islands-Sidney B.C. route.
The MV Cathlamet is an Issaquah-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.
MV Kitsap is an Issaquah-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries. The Kitsap was built in 1980 as an Issaquah class and upgraded in 1992 moving it to the Issaquah 130 class due to adding an upper car deck. The vessel also received interior upgrades. The vessel used to have a rainbow color of blue, but has since been renovated with interior colors light, and dark blue, and dark green.
The MV Hyak is a Super-class ferry that was operated by Washington State Ferries. Built in 1966 at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company shipyard in San Diego, the ferry began service on July 20, 1967, and normally ran on the Seattle–Bremerton route or the Anacortes–San Juan Islands run.
The MV Kaleetan is a Super-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.
The Jumbo class are two ferries that were built by Washington State Ferries in 1972 to supersede the Super class. They have a capacity of 2,000 passengers and 188 vehicles.
The Super-class ferries are a class of 382-foot (116 m), 144-car ferries built in 1967 for Washington State Ferries.
The U.S. state of Washington is home to a number of public and private ferry systems, most notably the state-run Washington State Ferries.
Kwa-di Tabil-class ferries were built for Washington State Ferries to replace the retired Steel Electric-class ferries. The vessels serve lower-traffic routes and carry up to 64 vehicles. The State of Washington spent approximately $213 million to construct the three ferries in this class.
State Route 305 (SR 305) is a 13.50-mile-long (21.73 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, primarily serving Bainbridge Island in Kitsap County and connecting it to Seattle in King County via the Seattle–Bainbridge Island ferry. The highway travels north through Bainbridge Island and leaves the island on the Agate Pass Bridge into the Kitsap Peninsula. SR 305 continues northwest through Poulsbo, intersecting SR 307 and ending at the SR 3 freeway. The highway was created during the 1964 highway renumbering and was preceded by Secondary State Highway 21A (SSH 21A), established in 1937. The ferry, part of the highway since 1994, is served by the Jumbo Mark-II-classMV Tacoma and MV Wenatchee and operates on a 35-minute crossing time.
The Edmonds–Kingston ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound between Edmonds and Kingston, Washington. Since 1951 the only ferries employed on the route have belonged to the Washington state ferry system, currently the largest ferry system in the United States. The last regularly operated steam ferry on the West Coast of the United States made its final run on this route in 1969.
The Seattle–Bremerton ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound between Seattle and Bremerton, Washington. Since 1951, the route has primarily been operated by the state-run Washington State Ferries system, currently the largest ferry system in the United States. Kitsap Transit also runs passenger-only "fast ferries" service on the route.
The Seattle–Bainbridge ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound between Seattle and Bainbridge Island, Washington. The route was called the Seattle–Winslow ferry before the city of Winslow annexed the rest of the island and changed its name. Since 1951 the only ferries employed on the route have belonged to the Washington state ferry system, currently the largest ferry system in the United States.
The MV Samish is the second vessel of the Olympic-class auto ferries built by Vigor Industrial for the Washington State Ferries system. The vessel started service with her maiden voyage to Friday Harbor as the #3 Boat in the San Juans on June 14, 2015.
Kitsap Fast Ferries is a passenger ferry service operating between Seattle and Kitsap County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is funded and operated by Kitsap Transit and began service in July 2017, with a single boat traveling between Seattle and Bremerton. A second route, from Seattle to Kingston, launched in November 2018, and a third route serving Seattle and Southworth began operating in March 2021. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,091,400, or about 40,800 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.