MV Walla Walla

The MV Walla Walla in Rich Passage
Career
Name: MV Walla Walla
Owner: WSDOT
Operator: Washington State Ferries
Port of registry: Seattle, Washington, US
Route: Seattle-Bremerton or Edmonds-Kingston (currently)
Builder: Todd Shipyard, Seattle
Completed: 1972
Refurbished: 2005[1]
Identification: Official Number:546382
Call Sign: WYX2158[1]
Status: In Service
General characteristics
Class and type:Jumbo Class auto/passenger ferry
Tonnage:3,246 gross-tonnage
1,198 net-tonnage
Length:440 ft (134 m)
Beam:87 ft (27 m)
Draft:18 ft (5 m)
Deck clearance:15 ft 6 in (4.7 m)
Installed power:Total 11,500 hp from 4 x Diesel-Electric engines
Speed:18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Capacity:2,000 passengers
188 vehicles (max 60 commercial)[2]

The MV Walla Walla is a Jumbo Class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.

After being replaced on the Seattle–Winslow route by the Jumbo Mark II Class ferry, she began serving as a fill-in vessel for whenever one of the larger ferries goes into scheduled maintenance periods; usually she can be found on either the Seattle-Bremerton or Edmonds-Kingston routes.[1] As of March 2008, Walla Walla was serving on the Seattle-Bremerton route.[3] Again in Fall 2011 she was serving on the Seattle-Bremerton route. The Walla Walla has returned to service on the Seattle - Bremerton route after an unfortunate electrical incident. In Late May 2013, she was set to go to Edmonds - Kingston to fill in for the Puyallup and returned in mid to late July 2013. In late July 2014, the Jumbo Mark II class ferry, MV Wenatchee went up to Vancouver, BC for repairs. Seeing as Washington State Ferries had no backup vessels, the Walla Walla once again found herself on her old run, Seattle-Winslow route. She was the other vessel on the route on the day the MV Tacoma suffered her massive electrical failure.

Incidents

In early November 2012, during routine maintenance, one of the ship's four drive motors was damaged and failed after it overheated. The ferry was removed from service while a replacement was installed. WSDOT announced that if the damaged motor could be replaced with a spare already in its warehouse, the ferry could be back into service within several months.[4][5] The spare motor was refurbished by General Electric in Los Angeles and then installed at Vigor Shipyards.[6] The Walla Walla returned to service in April 2013.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jumbos today, evergreenfleet.com
  2. ↑ MV Walla Walla vessel info from WSDOT
  3. ↑ Current route information – WSDOT, retrieved March 31, 2008
  4. ↑ Walla Walla ferry out of service indefinitely – Seattle Times, retrieved November 9, 2012
  5. ↑ Electrical Accident Puts Walla Walla Ferry Out Of Service – KGMI, retrieved November 12, 2012
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Frame, Susannah (March 11, 2013). "Report: Human error was cause of ferry maintenance accident". King5.com.

External links