M/V Samish Update

Jim Corenman, Chair of the San Juan Islands Ferry Advisory Committee forwards this Feb. 25, 2016 email from WSF’s John Vezina, Government Relations Liaison…

M/V Samish enters the harbor with “Sentinel” escorting on its first scheduled sailing last summer – Tim Dustrude photo

Last week our crew found a small hole in the hull of the Samish, necessitating taking it out of service. I sent a heads up email to those of you whose routes were affected by this issue. We were able to get it into dry dock for further inspection Tuesday, and now I want to update the whole caucus on what we found.

WSF engineers examined the vessel and discovered localized corrosion on the hull in the vicinity of both engine rooms. This corrosion is what led to the hole discovered last week.

WSF is working with representatives from the shipbuilder, Vigor Industrial, and Dakota Creek Industries, where the Samish is in dry dock, to track down the exact cause of the corrosion. We are also bringing in an independent corrosion expert and we have initiated a warranty claim with Vigor.

Repairs are currently underway while we definitively determine the cause of the corrosion. The dry dock is available until March 10 and we expect the Samish to return to service shortly thereafter.

The public’s safety was never compromised and, out of an abundance of caution, we will also be examining the other Olympic Class vessel, Tokitae, this week. The Coast Guard has been part of this process from the beginning and they are working with us to further guarantee this issue is fully corrected.

John B. Vezina
Government Relations Liaison
Washington State Ferries

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