Builder/contractor Vigor Fab delivered the Tokitae,
the state’s newest ferry, to Washington State Ferry officials in early June.
The $144 million Tokitae is the first of three
144-car ferries currently planned, and is expected to enter service this summer
on the Clinton-Mukilteo route. The second vessel, the Samish, is currently
under construction at Vigor with delivery planned for early 2015. State lawmakers
have provided funding for a third ferry, and construction is expected to begin in
late 2014.
“Vigor Fab built a top-notch, first-in-class vessel on
budget and on time to serve WSF’s peak summer season,” Vigor Fab Senior Vice
President Joe Corvelli said. Vigor Fab is Vigor Industrial’s ship building
unit. “The Tokitae is the result of all the skill, hard work and
dedication our shipbuilding teams bring to the job. These workers have built a
vessel ready to serve the people of Washington for the next 60 years.”
The vessel’s name, Tokitae, comes from a Coast Salish dialect, and means ‘nice
day, pretty colors.’
“We have a longstanding, productive partnership in new
vessel construction with Vigor,” Capt. George A. Capacci, interim assistant
secretary in charge of WSF, said. “Vigor and their subcontractors have
delivered a good product that will serve our customers for decades to come.”
With three new 64-car ferries operating, and the first of
three new 144-car ferries joining the fleet, the average age of WSF’s vessels
is expected to drop from 38 years to about 31, according to Transportation
Secretary Lynn Peterson.
“This new vessel brings us closer to increased service
reliability, while meeting the needs of taxpayers and our customers,” Peterson
said.
