Larger vessels considered for Keystone – Port Townsend route

OLYMPIA — Determined to make sure that the Keystone – Port Townsend route has ferries large enough to meet the demanding challenges of crossing Admiralty Inlet, one local lawmaker is telling Washington State Ferries (WSF) to check out an alternative to the Steilacoom II design that will be used as an immediate replacement for the retired Steel Electrics.

“I think the Steilacoom II is off to a good start, but after riding along on the sea trials I realized that we need something better for the long run,” said Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island. “That’s why I recommended that we send some of our ferry personnel with direct experience on the Keystone – Port Townsend route to see if a Puget Sound-built ferry operating on the East coast might be a better fit for our needs.”

Haugen, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, has agreed to send the WSF ferry captain and chief engineer who have been operating the Steilacoom II to check out the Island Home, a ferry built in Puget Sound that is currently operating in Nantucket.

The head of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) thinks that the trip, tentatively scheduled for late February, will give WSF and WSDOT valuable feed-back into whether or not the Island Home design will be the best option for the Keystone – Port Townsend route.

“I think Captain Haupt and Chief Engineer Bailey have worked extremely hard to help us make an informed decision on how to modify the Steilacoom II for our use, and have good experience on the Keystone – Port Townsend run,” said Paula Hammond, WSDOT Secretary of Transportation. “I think they are the perfect people to check out that vessel and report back their findings and recommendations.”

Senate Bill 6794 has been passed by the Legislature to direct the WSDOT to construct new ferries for service on routes like Keystone. The only design criterion in the bill was for vessels with a car-carrying capacity of no more than 100 vehicles, which gives Washington State Ferries (WSF) the necessary flexibility to assess how the Steilacoom II design works while still checking out other designs like the Island Home.

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