5 ferries to undergo follow-up inspections

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By KOMO Staff & News Services

Summary

Officials have wrapped up emergency inspections of the 12 state ferries that were ordered last week. The plan now calls for follow-up inspections on five of the 12 ferries: Rhododendron, Evergreen State, Walla Walla, Cathlamet and Kittitas.

Story Published: Dec 23, 2007 at 10:31 AM PDT

Story Updated: Jun 15, 2010 at 2:48 PM PDT

5 ferries to undergo follow-up inspections
Officials have wrapped up emergency inspections of the 12 state ferries that were ordered last week.

With the support of state officials, the U.S. Coast Guard ordered the inspections after the state's 80-year-old Steel Electric-class boats were pulled from service in November due to concerns about hull corrosion, cracks and other problems.

After eight days of inspections on Sunday, the Coast Guard said the ferries are not in bad shape.

"We have now completed these additional inspections on these vessels, and they are safe," said Lt. Cmdr. Todd Howard. "As far as our inspections have gone, there are no serious issues with the vessels."

The plan now calls for follow-up inspections on five of the 12 ferries: Rhododendron, Evergreen State, Walla Walla, Cathlamet and Kittitas.

"We did the initial inspection on them, but there were areas that needed additional cleaning," Howard said. "There was some corrosion or other problems in there that needed to be addressed by Washington State Ferries."

Inspectors discovered corrosion inside the hull of the second-oldest ferry operating on state waters, the 53-year-old Evergreen State.

Howard said the vessel will be inspected again on Friday after crews clean away some of the corrosion.

The inspections will take place at night after the ferries have made their runs.