(SEATTLE) — The ferry Elwha is going to a good home. Everett Ship Repair, a maintenance partner of Washington State Ferries (WSF), has purchased Elwha for $100,000.
The Western Towboat Co. tug Mariner, supplied by the new owner, arrived at the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal on Jan. 30 and began the process of moving the ferry.
“The Elwha has been part of Washington State Ferry history since 1968, and we’re excited to see one of our ferries with so much history and memories for millions of passengers is being repurposed locally. It won’t be the Elwha we’ve all come to know and appreciate but I’m confident it’s in good hands with a local shipyard,” said WSF Assistant Secretary Steve Nevey.
Everett Ship Repair plans to modify and convert the ferry to a floating office and warehouse space at its shipyard.

The 144-car Elwha was one of four Super-class ferries built in the mid-1960s. Elwha mainly served the Anacortes/Friday Harbor/Sidney, British Columbia route before being retired April 8, 2020. Two Super-class ferries, Kaleetan and Yakima, are still in service.
Last year, WSF was slated to sell Elwha and another decommissioned ferry, Klahowya, to be recycled in Ecuador, but scrapped the deal after the buyer failed to tow the vessels out of Puget Sound.
WSF hopes to sell and transfer Klahowya and another retired boat, Hyak, to free more dock space at its Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility for planned and unplanned maintenance on its current fleet.
WSF, a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation, is the largest ferry system in the U.S. and safely and efficiently carries tens of millions of people a year through some of the most majestic scenery in the world.
– Washington State Ferries