Riders heading to Bainbridge Island from downtown Seattle had no ferry service Monday, Oct. 5, after a crew shortage shut down one of the busiest routes in the Washington State Ferries system.
The Seattle-Bainbridge route went fully out of service after a single 5:30 a.m. sailing. The Seattle-Bremerton route lost half its schedule, with six sailings canceled. The Edmonds-Kingston and Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth routes also went dark.
For commuters in Magnolia, Queen Anne and Ballard who connect to the Colman Dock terminal, the disruptions eliminated a primary link to the Kitsap Peninsula with no announced timeline for restoration.
The problems started Sunday, Oct. 4, when staffing shortages forced Washington State Ferries (WSF) to cut service across Puget Sound. Four routes ran at half capacity or less that day, including the Seattle-Bainbridge and Seattle-Bremerton lines and the Anacortes-San Juan Islands route, where two of four vessels went out of service, first reported by KIRO 7. By Monday morning, the situation had worsened sharply.
WSF said in a service bulletin that it was "experiencing crewing openings on several routes" and warned of "serious disruptions." The agency said it was investigating "what may be contributing to the number of callouts and difficulty in filling the open positions," according to KING 5.
What's behind the shortage
Dock workers told KIRO Newsradio that the Monday cancellations stemmed from engineers calling out sick in what appeared to be a coordinated action to push for higher wages.
WSF has not confirmed a coordinated sick-out.
The contract covering roughly 400 ferry engineers has expired, and negotiations with the state remain ongoing. The engineers, who maintain vessel engines and critical mechanical systems, are seeking a 20% pay increase. Their union is legally prohibited from striking.
The union warned in June that staffing levels were already stretched thin and could lead to less reliable service. When KIRO Newsradio asked a union spokesperson the prior week about rising cancellations, the spokesperson said, "We are hearing this for the first time, and we are looking into it."
Monday's route-by-route damage
According to the WSF bulletin, here is what riders faced Monday morning:
- Seattle-Bainbridge: Out of service
- Seattle-Bremerton: One-boat service, six sailings canceled
- Edmonds-Kingston: Out of service
- Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth: Out of service
- Mukilteo-Clinton: One-boat service, two-hour driver wait at the Mukilteo terminal
WSF spokesperson Justin Fujioka, speaking to KIRO 7 on Sunday, said the agency's priority was getting at least one boat running on each route. Each vessel requires 12 to 15 crew members who meet U.S. Coast Guard requirements, making last-minute replacements difficult.
"Every sailing is important, and every cancellation we know has a significant impact on at least somebody," Fujioka said.
WSF blocked new reservations and reservation changes for Monday and waived no-show fees for passengers on canceled sailings. Riders with existing reservations were to be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Edmonds-Kingston route faces a separate, unrelated overnight suspension Tuesday, Oct. 6, through early Wednesday, Oct. 7, for BNSF railroad work in Edmonds. The last sailings Tuesday will be 6:10 p.m. from Kingston and 7 p.m. from Edmonds, with service resuming Wednesday at 9:35 a.m. from Kingston.
