Short on staff and ships, can Washington's new ferry chief navigate out of troubled waters?

Beneath cold, blustery skies on Tuesday, Steve Nevey said his job is to take the state’s beleaguered ferry system into the post-pandemic future.

It's his turn at the helm of Washington State Ferries, a system that often has trouble keeping boats running and fully staffed.

The new assistant secretary of WSF spoke outside Seattle's Coleman Dock as ferry passengers rushed to catch the ships bound for Bainbridge Island and Bremerton.

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“The challenges we've been facing over the last several years have been well documented,” Nevey said, as cold rain pelted the newly completed passenger walkway. “We don't have enough vessels. We're short on crew. But we are working to address those issues.”

That work includes submitting a request for proposals for two new electric hybrid vessels that Nevey hopes will be delivered in 2028, with three more following in 2030. Those five new boats are expected to bolster the number of daily sailings.

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As for buying more diesel-powered vessels to help the fleet in the short-term, Nevey said that’s not really an option.

“The propulsion vendor went out of business,” he said. “We would be a year further back from where we are now with the plans we have for electric vessels.”

Short-staffing over the past few years has also been a persistent hurdle for Washington Ferries, but Nevey said Tuesday that hiring new people has been mostly resolved. The challenge now, he said, is getting new-hires trained and qualified to work on large vessels.

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“There's a minimum number of sea-days that each rank needs to do to achieve the next rank," Nevey said. “So we don't really have an issue with attracting people in at the lowest level and then training them. It's just that time it takes to get people to where they need to be in the system.”

The agency will still need a steady supply of applicants, though. Over the next five years, half of the fleet’s captains will reach retirement age, according to Nevey.

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WSF received $10 million from the state legislature to add an additional crew member to each vessel. Nevey said that, too, would help prevent some canceled sailings when employees call-out, but not all. Asked if more money is needed to hire people, Nevey said state funding for crewing is adequate.

Now, Nevey said the ferries are staffing up, hurrying on maintenance projects, and hoping to get 16 to 17 boats running on time — for the busy summer season ahead.