PORT TOWNSEND — Washington State Ferries has delayed for a week the opening of contract bids on two Island Home-model ferries for the Port Townsend-Keystone route.
“They asked for more time,” state ferries spokeswoman Hadley Greene said of Puget Sound shipyards interested in bidding on the project, which has a budget of $84.5 million.
As the state proposes, the first ferry is scheduled to be completed in 2010.
Greene said bids will be opened at 11 a.m. Thursday at the state ferries offices in Seattle.
A contract is expected to be awarded about two weeks after the bids are opened, David Moseley, the ferry system’s director for the state Department of Transportation, has said.
The state ferries system, meanwhile, is awaiting an answer from the Coast Guard on whether the use of Pierce County’s Steilacoom II — leased to the state — will be extended through the New Year’s weekend, Jan. 1-4.
The Coast Guard is requiring that the Steilacoom II be taken off the route no later than midnight Dec. 31 for about one month of maintenance.
The 50-car ferry is expected to be in dry dock for maintenance during most of January, requiring state ferries to contract with passenger ferry-only operators during that time.
During an Oct. 21 Port Townsend-Keystone Ferry Partnership committee meeting, Port Townsend Mayor Michelle Sandoval and City Manager David Timmons asked Moseley if the car ferry’s use could be extended until after Jan. 1 to allow visitors the ability to use the ferry to return home.
“David [Moseley] had agreed to approach the Coast Guard about extending it through New Year’s weekend, and we are awaiting a response from them,” Greene said.
Port Townsend-based Puget Sound Express and Port Angeles-based Victoria Express have expressed interest in serving the ferry route in January, she said.
“More information about the planning for passenger-only ferry service will be coming next week,” Greene said.
Tranportation’s Ferries Division is moving forward to build two Island Home-style 64-car vessels to operate on the route connecting the North Olympic Peninsula with Whidbey Island.
The agency advertised for bids in September.
The Island Home design was chosen because it is well-suited to the unique conditions of the Port Townsend/Keystone route and meets all the baseline performance requirements established in the Port Townsend/Keystone Vessel Planning Study of December 2007, officials said.
The study looked at 14 vessel options and eight different propulsion systems for vessels that met the baseline criteria for operating in Keystone Harbor.
The Island Home design rose to the top as one of the preferred options to replace the Steel Electric ferries, which were retired a year ago.
It is a proven design by a Seattle firm, Elliott Bay Design Group, allowing Transportation to accelerate the design phase and begin construction as soon as possible.
In February 2008, state ferries representatives traveled to Wood’s Hole, Mass., on Cape Cod to tour and see the Island Home in operation on the route to Martha’s Vineyard.
Hold 64 cars
The new vessels are being designed to hold 64 cars, about the same number as the Steel Electric class ferries that once served the route.
The original Island Home design has the capacity for 57 standard autos, but Transportation plans to lengthen the vessel hull by inserting a 20-foot mid-body to provide for more vehicle capacity.
Transportation plans to reduce the passenger capacity from 1,200 to 650-750 passengers.
Ferries officials said this will save money in crewing costs, while still meeting the demands of the route.
The more than 80-year-old Steel Electrics, which state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond pulled from service because of unsafe corroded and pitted hulls, were certified for 616 passengers, so Transportation expects the Island Home to have a similar crew size.
Transportation modified the Island Home design to include a “pickle fork” bow. This creates a better line of sight from the pilot house and improves clearance for over-height vehicles at low tide.
Other changes in design include reducing the size of the heating and cooling systems. The boiler and the air conditioning systems on the existing Island Home are sized for New England winters and summers.
Transportation will use one ship’s set of engines from the 144-auto ferry contract for the first Island Home vessel.
Because the agency already owns the equipment, this will expedite construction of the first vessel, as procurement of the engines typically takes up to 20 months, ferries officials said.
The Island Home-style ferries will burn about 1,000-1,200 gallons of fuel per day. This is slightly more than the Steel Electrics, which used a maximum of 1,100 gallons per day, but is less than all other vessels in the state ferries fleet.
________
Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
