But let’s face it: Trying to convert the state’s most reliable vessel class has been fraught with delays and is millions of dollars over budget. The M/V Wenatchee, the first attempt at hybridization, will bob at Vigor Shipyards at least double the year expected, with costs mounting.
Two of its four engines were destroyed, reducing the reliability of one of the vessels they call “The Cadillacs of the Fleet,” as the engineer described them to me. It should be in service when it’s needed most.
Time to stop the bleeding. As The Times’ editorial board recently advocated, planned work on sister vessels Tacoma and Puyallup would be a mistake.