Staffing shortages delay expanded ferry schedules to April

Staffing shortages are delaying expanded spring ferry service schedules to the San Juan Islands and between Port Townsend and Coupeville until April 10.

“That just allows us to get our ducks in a row and make sure that things are staffed appropriately so we can provide that service up there,” Washington State Ferries spokesperson Ian Sterling told KIRO Newsradio.

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The ferry service has hired 100 new employees since October, which Sterling calls a light at the end of the tunnel.

“We’re hiring as fast as we can,” he said, adding, “The good news is we’re beginning to see service restored.”

The open positions, however, can’t be filled by just anyone. Ferry employees must pass marine fire fighting and water rescue courses, and get certified by the Coast Guard.

“These are not jobs that you can just step into off of the street. These are highly trained merchant marines,” he noted.

Ongoing crew shortages have been an issue for WSF that dates back to late 2021. In October, the ferry system went to a reduced sailing schedule following a series of canceled trips. The plan at the time was to provide a schedule that the ferry service could deliver reliably, so riders would have confidence that a boat would be waiting when they got to the terminal. That cut down on the crewing shortage issues.

After gradually returning boats to normal service, WSF hit early snags, with crew shortages again leading to multiple cancellations in December. By the end of 2021, the ferry service was still running on a handful of reduced schedules, with issues further exacerbated by extreme winter weather conditions and the early days of a surge in COVID cases driven by the omicron variant.

For now, Sterling still advises passengers to check online for the latest schedule changes.

MyNorthwest staff contributed to this report.