Since 1980, Washington State Ferries has assembled a strong safety record. This is true in its record in marine operations and in the operation of its terminals (including the loading and unloading of vehicles and foot and
bicycle passengers).
Marine Operations
In 2002, WSF operated 29 vessels on 10 routes. It conducted 15,192 sailings and boarded a total of approximately 25.2 million passengers.
Vessel crews at WSF hold licenses to conduct their respective responsibilities from the United States Coast
Guard. Safety standards for the vessels (for example, life boat and/or life raft capacity, navigational equipment,
fire safety equipment) are set by the United States Coast Guard.
The record for passenger safety in relation to vessel operation in 2002 was excellent. There were 100 reported injuries to passengers on WSF vessels and at the terminals. All injuries were minor in nature. There were no disabling injuries.
The record for vessel operations was also excellent. In 2002 there were four hard landing incidents at terminals. Damage inflicted varied but there was no disruption of service at any of the terminals involved.
Inspections of ferry vessels are periodically conducted by the Coast Guard. All vessels were granted a USCG Cerificate of Inspection (annual inspection of lifesaving and safety systems) required to operate as a passenger vessel, all vessels received and passed their interim quarterly inspections.
Terminal Operations and Vessel Loading
WSF conducts operations from 20 terminals. For 2002 the numbers of vehicle and passenger boardings at each
of the terminals are shown in the table below.
Washington State Ferries Rider Statistics
January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002
*Number of passengers is based on fares collected. Interisland passenger-only route is free so no data is available for this. There is a charge for interisland vehicle traffic, hence the availability of these numbers.
The terminal safety experience is reflected in the fact that there were 33 reported injuries at terminals, all injuries were minor in nature i.e. no disabling injuries.