I don’t often need to ride the ferry these days. It’s not simply a cost issue. I just don’t splurge; my fault for not preparing to be rich. A dinner trip to downtown is a luxury for me.
But I did commute, once upon a time. Like the millions of other groggy-eyed worker drones who brave the icy waters every morning. I paid no attention to the process except for the inevitable stampede once the ramp is lowered at Colman Dock. Maybe I should have been.
If you’ve never commuted at zero-dark AM, you’ve never experienced this stampede. All 2,000-plus through one door. One ramp. Don’t lag behind, you’ll be trampled.
I found it slightly amusing, that oft-forgotten safety announcement, sometimes not played until you’re over halfway there: “WSF is one of the safest ferry systems in the world.” Really? Who’s the safest? They got a web site?
As we know, and may have personally experienced, hundreds of jubilant sports fans were left stranded on the dock after a game. They were forced to disembark prior to sailing. They were on the boat and made to get off. Why? Was the ferry full? No! There was lots of room left on this Jumbo.
The ferry did not have sufficient lifeboats. None of the Jumbo Mark II Class ferries (Puyallup, Tacoma, Wenatchee) do. In fact, apparently only two ferries do meet SOLAS (International Convention for the Safety of Life At Sea) — the two that sail to Canada.
Let’s repeat that: Insufficient lifesaving equipment, on a passenger ferry, in the United States. Today, not 1914.
So why would they not carry enough lifeboats? Simply stated, money. Too many lifeboats and all that other unsightly safety stuff, when visible, tends to scare passengers. Out of sight, out of mind.
So how has WSF avoided all these nasty lifeboats? One, limit the number of walk-on passengers. Two, according to the Coast Guard, on the routes using Jumbos, the sister ship will assist. But how about the first and last trips of the day, when typically only one boat is operating?
Anywhere else in the USA, for such an egregious safety deficiency, the fleet would be grounded. Make a deal with the devil and wait for your account to come due.
If we’re limiting passengers, why build such a big boat in the first place? Save money and build more smaller boats that can be pressed into service as needed.
Let’s make a bold statement: Each ferry should carry sufficient lifesaving appliances for every passenger, driver and crewmember.
Now I must also wonder, looking around the passenger cabin, how many life jackets do they have? Not every bench seat has life jackets stored underneath. The seats in the bow and stern have none at all. Most of us don’t understand that the lifeboat canisters on the top deck are normally deployed automatically by a hydrostatic release, when the deck is awash. Everyone will be in the water long before they release.
How do you make a WSF crew member nervous? Wear your own lifejacket next time you walk on board.
Maybe they’ll get a hint.
Ray McKnight Kingston
