Michelson increased Puyallup’s speed to about 19 knots to hasten its arrival into downtown Seattle. For 90 tense seconds, he coordinated the emergency response with the crew and made arrangements for paramedics to meet the ship at the dock. Finally, word came that the man was conscious and stable. Michelson gave a reassuring look to the wheelhouse personnel. “OK,” the captain said, “he’s awake.”
“We have medical emergencies often,” said Michelson, an 18-year ferry system employee. “When you move this many thousands of people, you are going to get heart attacks, seizures, you name it. I think I have seen everything except somebody giving birth, but other (crewmembers) have.”
WSF is the largest ferry operator in the United States. Its 22 passenger and vehicle ferries carried nearly 24 million people in 2019. The system’s 1,900 employees include hundreds of mariners working in the wheelhouse, on deck and below in the engine rooms.
Michelson led 15 crew aboard Puyallup on a brisk, breezy late February day. Morning fog nearly burned off by the 0935 departure from Colman Dock in downtown Seattle to Bainbridge Island. The roughly 6.5-mile run across Elliott Bay takes 35 minutes each way, and the ferries run almost 20 hours a day.
Puyallup is one of three Jumbo Mark II-class ferries. They are the largest in the WSF fleet and the second-largest double-ended ferries in the world. The 460-foot behemoths can hold 202 vehicles and 2,499 passengers. Tacoma and Wenatchee are the other two in the class. All three were built in the late 1990s.
Denne historien er fra June/July 2020 -utgaven av Professional Mariner.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June/July 2020 -utgaven av Professional Mariner.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Mariner's role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed
Mariners’ role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed
Piracy edges closer to home with wave of raids in southern Gulf
In the brief cellphone video recorded by a crewmember on the offshore supply vessel (OSV) Remas, the pirates walk back and forth on the deck of the ship, clenching their guns and using them to point as they order around the crew. Their faces are draped in clothing and bandanas.
Casualties
NTSB: Dredge hit Texas gas pipeline, causing fire that killed four
IMO emissions report raises new concerns about methane slip
A recent report from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reveals that global shipping emissions increased nearly 10 percent from 2012 to 2018, with the industry facing a growing challenge concerning methane slip.
Bay State brothers find industry niche by making old into new
Zero non-conformities is what you want to hear when the U.S. Coast Guard inspects your tugboat. Once you’ve prepared your vessel, the inspectors come aboard to peruse your paperwork. They ask you pointed questions, to which they expect straightforward answers. Perusal completed, they then scrutinize all of the related safety systems, from bilge to antennas — even the ship’s bell.
Signals
A year into the pandemic, thousands ‘essentially indentured’ on ships
Analysis points to faulty loading, low ballast in Golden Ray rollover
While the salvage of the sunken vehicle carrier Golden Ray has been delayed for months due to COVID-19 and the hurricane season, analysis by the U.S. Coast Guard has determined a possible cause for the rollover: a combination of vehicles placed too high on the ship’s decks, and not enough ballast water gave the placement of the cargo.
Seastreak newcomer pushing through dip in demand
Two years ago, Seastreak LLC took delivery of Seastreak Commodore, a 600-passenger fast ferry, from Gulf Craft of Franklin, La. Designed by Australia-based Incat Crowther, the vessel is the largest of its kind in the United States and was built to meet the burgeoning demand for service in the New York-New Jersey market.
New year in a new world: Navigating COVID's maritime realities
In a matter of days, the decorative time balls will drop, “Auld Lang Syne” will fill the air, and ships at anchor will sound their horns as the world welcomes in the new year.
Advanced props, rudders provide new efficiencies below the waterline
It took a decade or two from the invention of the marine propeller in the 19th century for the technology to become widely accepted. Thereafter, adoption has been nearly universal, but progress toward improved efficiencies has come in fits and starts.
