Ferry Walla Walla out for months after motor damage
SEATTLE (AP) - A drive motor failure that occurred during maintenance on the 188-car Washington state ferry Walla Walla has left parts of the ferry near the engine charred and melted - and the vessel out of service indefinitely, a Washington State Ferries spokeswoman said Friday.
The incident happened last Sunday while the ferry was undergoing routine, regularly scheduled maintenance at the agency's facility on nearby Bainbridge Island.
No injuries were reported.
Built in 1972, the Walla Walla, which can carry as many as 2,000 passengers, will be out of service "for at least the next few months," spokeswoman Marta Coursey said in a statement.
The damaged drive motor is one of four motors that turn the vessel's propellers.
The ferry was a week away from returning to the Edmonds-Kingston route after four months of maintenance, the Kitsap Sun reported.
"This is a serious incident and we're going to do a very thorough and detailed investigation into what happened," said David Moseley, Washington State Ferries director. "We hope to return the vessel to service as soon as possible."
Because the damage was so severe, a third-party contractor, Cadick Corp., has been brought in to help with the investigation. The state Transportation Department has also asked the state Department of Labor and Industries and the Coast Guard to help make sure all employee safety requirements were met.
Results from the investigation are expected within two to three weeks.
The Transportation Department is checking with the engine manufacturer to see whether a spare drive motor the department already owns can be used.
Other ferries will be shifted around in the system in an effort to maintain service, Coursey said.
The incident happened last Sunday while the ferry was undergoing routine, regularly scheduled maintenance at the agency's facility on nearby Bainbridge Island.
No injuries were reported.
Built in 1972, the Walla Walla, which can carry as many as 2,000 passengers, will be out of service "for at least the next few months," spokeswoman Marta Coursey said in a statement.
The damaged drive motor is one of four motors that turn the vessel's propellers.
The ferry was a week away from returning to the Edmonds-Kingston route after four months of maintenance, the Kitsap Sun reported.
"This is a serious incident and we're going to do a very thorough and detailed investigation into what happened," said David Moseley, Washington State Ferries director. "We hope to return the vessel to service as soon as possible."
Because the damage was so severe, a third-party contractor, Cadick Corp., has been brought in to help with the investigation. The state Transportation Department has also asked the state Department of Labor and Industries and the Coast Guard to help make sure all employee safety requirements were met.
Results from the investigation are expected within two to three weeks.
The Transportation Department is checking with the engine manufacturer to see whether a spare drive motor the department already owns can be used.
Other ferries will be shifted around in the system in an effort to maintain service, Coursey said.
another fine job by the union workers! what kind of maintanence involves melted, charred parts?
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@SwampThing It was caused by a flashover.
Komo, was it a motor or an engine or both? Your article seems to want to use both terms interchangeably. For the record, an "engine" uses fuel to create torque. a "motor" uses electric or hydraulic pressure to create torque. Engines may be used to run generators to create electricity to run motors.
 @Glassman It was a single commutator. There are four aboard the Walla Walla, and this one was at No. 2 End.Â
@StevenRosenow @Glassman
#1 end...
 @StevenRosenow "Commutators" are on motors, then. There was no "engine" involved, if your information is accurate.
KING5 has a much more detailed story. Basically a worker routed power to the wrong motor which was in a state where it couldn't handle the power. Proper safety procedures weren't followed. They are going to have to replace the whole unit and it may take Westinghouse many months to get one made.
The epitome of FUBAR
Get WADOT out of the ferry business! WADOT can't even make bridge pontoons that don't leak. With a separate dept. of Ferries there would be a chance for more accountability.
FIRE PAULA HAMMOND.
 @rockguy That statement couldn't have been based out of sheer ignorance, could it? The State Ferry system was born from the repeated failures of a private entity and it was the citizens who asked the state to step in.  What we are seeing is the direct cascade of failures that have resulted from the passing of Initiative 695 in 1999. It robbed WSF of 50% of its operating revenue. Instead of being properly funded, now they're not.
@StevenRosenow @rockguy This was human error.
 @StevenRosenow  @rockguy Yeah...it has nothing to do with the management of funds in government.....it is always a tax issue.
As a regular ferry patron, I've spent a lot of time sitting on the car deck. In times past, you would see workers attending to rust, touching up paint etc. Haven't seen anything like that in about 15 years. If the engine rooms have been decaying like the parts of the boat above water, it's sad. At what point did the "ferry workers" just become indifferent traffic controllers? Most of the deck personnel can't even be bothered with giving decisive hand directions and then they yell at you if you hesitate when you're trying to figure out where the heck they want you to go. The walk right by cars running their engines on a run and don't even pause. They just seem to want to get to wherever it is they hide out.Â
@achoo2Â you are welcome to my engine room any time... we have some of the cleanest and polished engine rooms out there... the decay that you see is politics not the workers.
I guess that wire didn't go there from the looks of things. OOOOOOOOOOOOoppppps
The crown jewell of our local transportation system should require MUCH more attention by the state, and be run a LOT sharper than it is. Between the scandals, an aging fleet that's not updated nearly enough, and the paralyzing lack of flexibility - the ferry system should be a much hotter topic than it is.
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 @Throbbinhood It used to be the crown jewel until I-695 passed.
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 @StevenRosenow  @Throbbinhood We get it. You're angry that the people stood up to the tax-and-spend mentality of Olympia. The people have spoken. Get over it.
 @Glassman I-695 needs to be repealed. It had nothing to do with the tax-and-spend mentality (which is a "theory" that was discredited). I-695 repealed the very mechanisms that funded our state's transportation maintenance needs. And now we're seeing what happens as a result.
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If this happened during maintenance, then I'm guessing someone screwed up. The way those brushes are welded on there, looks like someone forgot to release the brake or something. But since it was a government employee or contractor who messed up, nothing will happen to them, except maybe getting a promotion or some paid time off.  I only ride the ferries as a "tourist", but I still think they are as magical as when I was  kid, so it really sucks knowing how poorly the boats are maintained and managed. I think they should fire everyone, and make them all re-apply for their jobs in an open hiring; those are our boats, we pay for them, we shouldn't have to watch them be destroyed by inept employees.Â
 @Asa As I said in a reply a few posts below, they were removing overspray from a recent paint job when it happened. Had nothing to do with maintenance. What did occur was a violation of OSHA "Lockout-Tagout" regulations, but it had nothing to do with maintenance in general.
Looks like simple motor maintenance was not done. Those banks of motor brushes welding to the armature was totally preventable. Looks expensive, that is quite a huge motor. That would put the spin cycle on insane with your wash machine!
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It also looks like it took some effort to fry that motor so badly. It's toast so to speak.
 @pbs7mm They were removing overspray from a recent paint job when it happened. Had nothing to do with maintenance. What did occur was a violation of OSHA "Lockout-Tagout" regulations, but it had nothing to do with maintenance.
Something smells fishy here. KOMO please follow up on this, will you?