Staffing Shortages Force Reduced Schedules On WA Ferries

SEATTLE — Washington State Ferries has announced it will temporarily reduce service on most routes in order to hurdle recent staffing shortages.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a continual problem for the ferries: not only has the agency had to make multiple adjustments for safety and social distancing aboard its ferries, the illness has taken a toll on its workforce. Some employees are at high risk for COVID-19, and have been unable to work at all during the pandemic. Others have simply caught the disease and needed time off for recovery and quarantine, and around 250 employees remain unvaccinated and at risk of losing their positions later this month when the governor's vaccine mandate for state employees goes into effect.

Couple that with a global shortage of mariners, and COVID-19 protocol making it difficult to train up new replacement staff, and the ferry system is in a bind.

“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve worked hard to maintain reliable service, completing the vast majority of sailings,” said Patty Rubstello, head of WSF. “However, to better reflect the service we can currently provide and to minimize last-minute cancelations due to a lack of crew, we made this difficult decision to adjust our schedules.”

On Friday, COVID-related staffing shortages caused service reductions at seven WSF routes. All together, the shortages forced them to skip 140 sailings in one day. Things had been looking up when, this Monday, ferry service returned to normal, but unfortunately it was not to last and the ferry system says it will need to cut sailings to create a more consistent schedule.

The reduced service schedule will go into effect this Saturday, Oct. 16. Changes to the schedule include:

• The Seattle/Bainbridge, Edmonds/Kingston and Mukilteo/Clinton routes will all be cut to one boat service, down from two.
• The Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route will be down from three boats to two.
• The Anacortes/San Juan Islands sailings will be cut to a three-boat schedule, down from four. Vehicle reservations for that route have also been suspended.
• The Seattle/Bremerton sailing will remain reduced to one boat instead of two.

The Point Defiance/Tahlequah and Port Townsend/Coupeville will both retain their normal, one-boat service, and vehicle reservations remain available for the Port Townsend/Coupeville route.

Though service has been reduced indefinitely, WSF stresses that the changes will be reversed as the pandemic wanes or as new staff is brought on. Ferry organizers have said they will continue to evaluate staffing and tinker with scheduling if appropriate, with the goal of returning as many boats to service as quickly as they can.

WSF also notes that they continue to hire new employees. Normally, WSF hires all recruits once a year before the busy summer season. For the pandemic, the agency has shifted to continuous recruitment, but is still struggling to replace its aging workforce, and has only been able to hire around 150 crew members over the past year.