Ferry MV Nisqually on Puget Sound
History
Name	1927–1940: MV Mendocino 1940–2011: MV Nisqually
Owner	1927–1940: Southern Pacific-Golden Gate Ferries Ltd 1940–1951: Puget Sound Navigation Company 1951–2007: WSDOT
Operator	1927–1940: Southern Pacific-Golden Gate Ferries Ltd 1940–1951: Black Ball Line 1951–2007: Washington State Ferries
Port of registry	Seattle, Washington,  USA
Launched	14 April 1927
Completed	Built in 1927 Rebuilt in 1958 and 1987
In service	1927
Out of service	November 20, 2007
Identification	IMO number: 8836168 Official Number: 226712 Call sign: WA8696
Fate	Scrapped, 2011
General characteristics
Class and type	Steel Electric-class auto/passenger ferry
Tonnage	1,368 GT 930 NT
Length	256 ft (78 m)
Beam	73 ft 10 in (22.5 m)
Draft	12 ft 9 in (3.9 m)
Deck clearance	13 ft 2 in (4.0 m)
Installed power	2 x diesel-electric engines, total 2,896 hp (2,160 kW)
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Capacity	616 passengers 59 vehicles (max 24 commercial)[1]

The MV Nisqually was a Steel Electric-class ferry formerly operated by Washington State Ferries.

Originally built as the MV Mendocino in San Francisco for Northwestern Pacific Railroad, she started out serving Southern Pacific Railways on their Golden Gate Ferries line on San Francisco Bay. She was purchased by the Puget Sound Navigation Company in 1940, and moved to Puget Sound where she was renamed the MV Nisqually, later being acquired by Washington State Ferries who took over operations in 1951.^[2]

On November 20, 2007, the entire Steel Electric class was withdrawn from service due to hull corrosion issues. The Nisqually was not in service at the time.

The Nisqually at Ensenada, Mexico, May 8, 2010
31°50′49.4″N 116°37′35.4″W / 31.847056°N 116.626500°W / 31.847056; -116.626500

Washington State Ferries sold the Nisqually and her sister ferries to Eco Planet Recycling, Inc. of Chula Vista, California for scrap. All four ferries were sold for $200,000. The Nisqually and Quinault were towed out of Eagle Harbor on August 7, 2009, arriving in Ensenada, Mexico on August 16. Presumably, the Nisqually was cut up sometime between February and April 2011.^[2]

Incidents

One notable accident happened in July 1963 when the Nisqually was working on the Edmonds-Kingston route. It was heading to Edmonds when a tanker hit it. No one was hurt, but the ferry suffered major damage though. If the hull was not sponsoned out 8 feet (2.4 m) in 1958, the ferry would have sunk.^[2]

References