Two retired Washington ferries to be recycled in Ecuador after decades of service

Two historic ferries that have served the Washington State Ferries (WSF) fleet for over 50 years are being sold and transported to South America for recycling, according to a recent announcement from the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Nelson Armas of Ecuador has purchased the vessels Elwha and Klahowya for $100,000 each.

The U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration has approved the sale, allowing the ferries to be towed to Ecuador, where they will be recycled at a clean, green steel mill facility.

Both ferries have been certified as free of hazardous materials.

The Elwha and Klahowya, currently docked at the Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility on Bainbridge Island, will begin their journey to South America on Monday, August 19.

The new owner provided a tugboat from Western Towboat Co. to take the vessels out of the harbor at 9:30 a.m. before they connect with the larger voyage towing tugboat Wycliffe, which will guide them out of Puget Sound.

The Wycliffe’s progress can be tracked in real-time through MarineTraffic.

WSF Assistant Secretary Steve Nevey highlighted the sale’s benefits, noting that it would free up docking space and reduce maintenance costs.

“After safely serving our customers for more than five decades each, the sale of these two retired ferries will free up our docking space so we can focus vessel maintenance needs on our current fleet,” Nevey said.

He added that moving the decommissioned vessels previously required costly tugboat services and crew members, which could now be allocated to active routes.

The Elwha, a 144-car Super-class ferry built in the mid-1960s, primarily operated on the Anacortes/Friday Harbor/Sidney, British Columbia route before its retirement on April 8, 2020.

The Klahowya, an 87-car Evergreen State-class ferry built in 1958, mainly served the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route and was decommissioned on July 1, 2017.

The sale of another decommissioned vessel, the Hyak, is still pending.

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