New class of state ferries named after our mountains

The Associated Press

SEATTLE — The new 144-car ferries on order for the Washington State Ferries will be known as the Olympic class of vessels, named for the Olympic Mountains.

Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond selected the name from more than 130 suggestions from department employees.

The state Transportation Commission will name the individual vessels. The first of two Olympic-class ferries is under construction at Vigor Shipyard in Seattle. Construction on the second ferry begins in December.

The three latest ferries in the fleet are the 64-car vessels in the Kwa-di Tabil class. That means “little boat” in the Quileute language and was suggested by a group of Port Townsend schoolchildren in 2010.