State stalling ferry purchase

A Tacoma shipbuilder has filed a claim against the state Department of Transportation and Washington State Ferries alleging they have intentionally stalled the purchase of four new ferries to replace ships that are nearly 80 years old.

J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding also claims that Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald has waged a vendetta against the company, obstructing its bid to replace those aging “Steel Electric” ferries, which Martinac says are out of compliance with U.S. Coast Guard requirements.

The company has accused MacDonald, state Ferries Director Mike Anderson and others of being willing to squander tens of millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money to keep the Steel Electrics in service, even though the governor and Legislature demanded nearly five years ago that those ships be replaced. The existing ferries, M/V Klickitat, M/V Illahee, M/V Nisqually and M/V Quinault, were built in 1927.

Martinac submitted a bid in 2002 to replace the four ferries for $242 million. The proposed 130-car ferries would be equipped with a highly manoeuvrable “Z-drive” propulsion system that would allow them to navigate such difficult harbours as the Keystone Ferry Terminal. Meantime, the DOT and state ferries have proposed reconfiguring or rebuilding the Keystone terminal, at a cost of up to $1 billion ? work that Martinac claims is unnecessary. Moreover, the claim alleges, the state has spent more than $46 million to renovate the current ferries in order to keep them in service.

Martinac’s attorney, John Powell, alleged that over the years MacDonald has intentionally undermined Martinac’s bid, challenging its funding source and its ability to build four ferries. At one point, Martinac was disqualified from the bidding process. Its bid was reinstated by an administrative law judge. Currently, there are two shipbuilders competing with Martinac for the contract: Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle and Nichols Brothers Boat Builders on Whidbey Island.