Everett Ship Repair starts work on WSF Jumbo Mk III

Wenatchee in floating dry dock [Image: Everett Ship Repair]

Everett Ship Repair LLC (ESR) has issued some more details and photographs of the work it is undertaking on Washington State Ferries’ M/V Wenatchee. The vessel is a Jumbo Mark II class ferry, the largest in the WSF fleet and, as we reported earlier, ESR’s floating dry dock, the Faithful Servant, had to be moved to deeper water within the Port of Everett, Wash., in order to be able to ballast down sufficiently to dock the vessel.

The Wenatchee measures 460 feet by 90 feet with a docking displacement of 4,675 LT. The Faithful Servant has undergone improvements to expand its capabilities, and can now service vessels up to 460 feet by 100 feet with drafts up to 32 feet, including all vessels in WSF’s fleet.

The docking evolution started with moving the Faithful Servant approximately 500 meters to the deep water docking site within Port of Everett where ballasting and deballasting took place to dry dock the vessel.

With the ferry on board, the dry dock was then moved back to its permanent location at Pier 3.

The docking operation was supported by Dunlap Towing Company and AUS dive team. ESR’s dockmaster, Scott Dixon, managed the docking cycle, communicating with the Dunlap tug captains and AUS divers to perform a flawless first WSF docking by ESR.

The vessel will undergo hull and deck steel replacement while at ESR. It will also be blasted and painted as required by the owner. Its 8-ton propellers will be removed, inspected, and serviced at Sound Propeller before reinstallation.

The duration of the project is anticipated to last seven weeks at which time ESR will undock the vessel and redeliver it to WSF.