MV Elwha

History

Elwha was built in 1967 in San Diego, California, as the last of the four Super-class ferries. She made her maiden voyage on June 16, 1968 on the Seattle-Bainbridge Island route, and remained on the route for the first four years of her career before being replaced in fall 1972 by the .

For much of the 1970s, the Elwha served as a maintenance relief vessel, filling in for other Super and Jumbo-class ferries when and where needed for maintenance cycles.

In the 1980s, Elwha was assigned to the Anacortes-San Juan Islands route, where she stayed, with rare exception, until her retirement in 2020.

Incidents

On October 2, 1983, the Elwha ran aground in Grindstone Harbor, near Orcas Island, on a submerged reef while carrying 100 passengers. The collision was initially blamed on the failure of a steering component, but was later found to have been caused by Captain Billy Fittro going off-course to give a visitor a view of her waterfront home. The captain resigned in lieu of being discharged a few days after the incident; ferry chief Nick Tracey was fired the following month, after failing to report Captain Fittro's past negligence. The collision caused $250,000 in damage and forced the ferry out of service for several weeks. The rock was later named "Elwha Rock" in 1989 after the ferry; the incident also inspired the song "Elwha on the Rocks", recorded by the Island City Jazz Band and played on Seattle-area radio stations.

In December 1990, a winter storm descended on the Puget Sound region while the Elwha was out of service for routine maintenance. Hurricane-force winds ripped mooring lines and repeatedly slammed the now partially adrift ferry into the concrete pier it was tied up alongside. The accident resulted in millions of dollars in damage and forever altered the ferry. The Elwha lost control while approaching the Anacortes terminal in January 1994 and destroyed the support structure for the pedestrian walkway. While on the Friday Harbor–Sidney run in July 1996, the ferry was taken on an alternate route around San Juan Island and was grounded on a rock, which damaged the hull.

On September 8, 1999, the vessel suffered another serious accident when a software glitch led to it ramming the Orcas Island ferry dock, causing $3.8 million worth of damage to the linkspan and other terminal structures.

Repairs and retirement

In April 2018, an inspection of the ferry uncovered 12,000 ft2 of corroded steel beneath the floor of the Elwhas main passenger cabin. Repairs to the ferry took seven months and cost $25 million.

In July 2019, just eight months after her return to service, another routine inspection at Lake Union Drydock uncovered further steel corrosion on the ferry's car deck. Repairs were estimated at $35 million, and the ferry was placed in layup while WSF attempted to procure the necessary funding to repair the ferry. Following the passage of I-976 in November 2019, the State Legislature proposed to retire the ferry rather than fund the repairs. On April 17, 2020, following seven months of layup, the ferry was towed to Bainbridge Island to be taken out of service.

On August 16, 2024, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced that the decommissioned Elwha and Klahowya would be sold for $100,000 each to Ecuadorian businessman Nelson Armas. The ferries would be scrapped and recycled in a "clean [and] green" facility in Ecuador after being towed from Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island. The two vessels were towed out into Elliott Bay on August 19 to begin their 35-day trip to Ecuador, but a malfunction with the towing equipment caused the trip to be postponed; the Elwha and Klahowya returned to Eagle Harbor. The crew on the tugboat were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on August 30 after their work visas had expired. The sale of the two ferries was cancelled on September 5 after more issues with the tugboat and allegations of poor working conditions were disclosed; Armas forfeited the entire cost of the sale per the contract's terms.

WSF approved the sale of Elwha to Everett Ship Repair for $100,000 in January 2025. The company intends to reconfigure the ferry into a floating office and warehouse, replacing several trailers.

References

References

1. "M.V. Elwha". Evergreen Fleet.
2. (October 3, 1983). "Ferry hits reef; steering failure blamed". The Seattle Times.
3. (October 7, 1983). "Ferry skipper gave women tour, say officials". The Seattle Times.
4. Birkland, Dave. (October 6, 1983). "Ferry 'had time to reverse course'". The Seattle Times.
5. (October 21, 1983). "Ferry chief fired in wake of Elwha furor". The Seattle Times.
6. Corr, O. Casey. (December 10, 1989). "Ferry makes the map with rock hit". [[The Washington Post]].
7. Broom, Jack. (July 26, 2002). "Showing Off: Welcome aboard as we float a few facts on the state's ferries". The Seattle Times.
8. (December 19, 1989). "Ferry crash gives new name to Elwha River". [[The Free Lance–Star]].
9. Duncan, Dan. (November 9, 1983). "Spoof song 'Elwha on the Rocks' makes splash in ferry country". The Seattle Times.
10. Hampshire, David. (August 23, 2021). "A ferry tale: Remembering the Elwha". [[Journal of the San Juan Islands]].
11. "The M/V Elwha".
12. Santana, Arthur. (September 8, 1999). "Ferry Loaded With Passengers Slams Into Orcas Island Dock". The Seattle Times.
13. (September 9, 1999). "Ferry Elwha rams dock, strands passengers". Kitsap Sun.
14. Deshais, Nicholas. (August 17, 2024). "What happens to a retired WA ferry? Elwha, Klahowya about to find out". The Seattle Times.
15. Allison, Jacqueline. (February 20, 2020). "Potential loss of Anacortes ferry 'devastating to this community,' mayor says". [[Skagit Valley Herald]].
16. (January 6, 2021). "Private ferry service to Sidney, B.C., possible, but area leaders express worry". Anacortes American.
17. (August 16, 2024). "Retired state ferries sold for $100,000 each". Washington State Department of Transportation.
18. Deshais, Nicholas. (August 30, 2024). "Immigration agents detain crew after failed WA ferry tow". The Seattle Times.
19. (August 20, 2024). "Retired WA ferries' voyage to Ecuador postponed due to tow malfunction". [[KCPQ.
20. (September 5, 2024). "Washington State Ferries cancels sale of retired boats". Washington State Department of Transportation.
21. Deshais, Nicholas. (September 5, 2024). "Sale of retired WA ferries canceled after tow failure". The Seattle Times.
22. Deshais, Nicholas. (January 31, 2025). "Retired and notorious ferry Elwha finds a port in Everett". The Seattle Times.