At Washington State Ferries, 2026 has started with a thud, one ferry each of the first three days of the year were pulled from service for mechanical problems. Here's a rundown.Walla Walla was removed from our Seattle/Bremerton route midday Thursday, Jan. 1. A propeller blade broke off. The cause is still unknown.
Eastern Shipbuilding Group received the Notice to Proceed from Washington State Ferries (WSF) to build two with an option for an additional 160-vehicle hybrid-electric ferries for the State of Washington. This milestone follows the first competitive bid for ferry construction in more than 25 years for the nation’s largest ferry system.
Washington State Ferries reported that its 17-vessel service was dinged by the removal of the ferry Wenatchee, which has been taken out of service due to a mechanical issue involving one of its electrical subsystems discovered last week.According to WSF, the vessel’s engine crew and maintenance teams are working to remove and replace the damaged equipment, which remains under warranty.
Sea trials on the Washington State Ferries (WSF) ferry Wenatchee (2,500 passengers, 200 vehicles) got off to a bad start last week, as WSF reports "investigation by our technicians and engine crew discovered last week the control system communication wires were creating intermittent instability which caused the drive motors to go offline.
The 30-year-old Washington State Ferries vessel Wenatchee, one of the state’s three largest ferries, has been converted to hybrid-electric power. It is due to be operational again this summer.The work included:• taking out two of the four diesel generators• building two new battery rooms and outfitting them with 864 battery modules• installing new controls• installing thousands of feet of