MV ''Hyak'' is a that was operated by Washington State Ferries. Built in 1966 at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company shipyard in San Diego, the ferry began service on July 20, 1967, and normally ran on the Seattle–Bremerton ferry, Seattle–Bremerton route or the Anacortes–San Juan Islands ferry, Anacortes–San Juan Islands run. ''Hyak'' is Chinook Jargon for "speedy".

History

The ''Hyak'' was built by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego, California in 1966, at a cost of $6.5 million. It was launched and christened by Nancy Evans, wife of Governor Daniel J. Evans, on December 17, 1966. The vessel traveled north along the Pacific Coast in June 1967, but was delayed by a severe storm near San Francisco, California when it broke a temporary breakwater (structure), breakwater. She arrived in Seattle on July 4, several days later than scheduled, and was moved to the Vigor Shipyards, Todd Shipyards for repairs. The word ''Hyak'' is chinook jargon for "speedy". The ferry was not able to enter service after arrival because of an ongoing labor dispute with the local chapter of the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots. The union argued that the wage agreement it signed with Washington State Ferries did not cover new, larger vessels like the ''Hyak''. The dispute reached the King County Superior Court, where a judge signed an injunction ordering the ferry to be crewed on its first run on July 19. The ''Hyak'' entered service that afternoon, and was assigned to the Seattle–Bremerton ferry, Seattle–Bremerton route, cutting the crossing time from 65 minutes to 45. The next day, the ferry made its first scheduled run and nearly rammed Pier 52 in Seattle after an engine failure. During the 90's she was on the Edmonds-Kingston route and she would fill in there and the Seattle-Bainbridge route during the last few years of her service life. Unlike her sisters, the ''Hyak'' did not have her cabin refurbished. In June 2015, the ''Hyak'' was replaced by the in the third sailing spot in the San Juans. It was moved to the Seattle–Bremerton ferry, Seattle–Bremerton route for the remainder of its life, but returned to the San Juan route several times to replace vessels undergoing maintenance. The ''Hyak'' primarily served as a standby vessel for the rest of the fleet and was considered for experimental conversion to use hybrid diesel-electric generators until the plan was scrapped in 2015. The retirement of the ''Hyak'', originally anticipated for the arrival of , was delayed into 2019 after replaced it as a relief vessel. The ''Hyak'' had a $37 million maintenance backlog that was left unaddressed by the state legislature, which allocated $2 million in supplemental funds to operate the ferry until June 2019. The supplemental funds were not extended in the 2019–21 transportation budget, signaling the vessel's retirement. On June 30, 2019, the ''Hyak'' made her final run on the Seattle–Bremerton route; the vessel's retirement caused schedule modifications on several routes to accommodate the downsized fleet. The ''Hyak'' will be stripped of her usable equipment and prepared for sale as surplus property.

Legacy

The vessel's horn was donated to Climate Pledge Arena, where it is used by the National Hockey League's Seattle Kraken every time they score a goal during home games.

Incidents

On April 19, 1977, the ''Hyak'' rammed the terminal slip at Seattle causing an estimated $500,000 worth of damage. On April 14, 1986, the ''Hyak'' ran aground in Anacortes, Washington after a navigational error made by the crew, placing the ferry in shallow water above a reef. Only one injury was reported of the 250 people on board, but the ferry sustained damage that cost $250,000 to repair. On September 13, 2013, the ''Hyak'' collided with a private sailboat between Orcas and Shaw islands. No one was injured. The sailboat, however, was damaged and sank about 20 minutes after the accident.

References

External links

MV ''Hyak'' vessel info from WSDOT
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyak, MV Washington State Ferries vessels 1967 ships Ships built in San Diego