Washington State Ferries: 13 of 18 boats idle after crew callouts; Edmonds shut Tuesday
On Monday, October 5, Washington State Ferries ran out of engine-room crew before most commuters had left home. WSF said 23 engine-room employees called in sick, none of the qualified relief workers took the open shifts, and by about 10 a.m. 13 of its 18 scheduled ferries were tied up. A second, unrelated disruption follows on Tuesday night, when a BNSF track job blocks the Edmonds dock. Here is what WSF has said, why one missing engineer can cancel a boat, the alternatives route by route, and what happens to your ticket.
Monday morning, notice by notice
WSF did not cancel everything at once. Route by route, its alerts went out between 5 and 11 a.m. as dispatchers failed to fill engine-room shifts. All times are PDT on Monday, Oct. 5.
| 5:08 a.m. | Seattle/Bremerton drops to one boat for the day: the Chimacum has no qualified crew. Six morning and midday sailings are cancelled. |
| 5:26 a.m. | WSF warns every route of crew openings and says to expect "serious disruptions" all day. |
| 6:47 a.m. | Mukilteo/Clinton goes to one boat for the day. Every sailing of the route's second boat is cancelled. |
| 6:54 a.m. | Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth is out of service. |
| 7:11 a.m. | Edmonds/Kingston is out of service. |
| 7:58 a.m. | Seattle/Bainbridge Island is out of service. |
| 8:10 a.m. | Anacortes/San Juan Islands loses two of its four boats. One ferry makes every stop, the interisland boat helps on the mainland run in the morning (so the 11:30 a.m. interisland sailings are cancelled, with interisland service back at 2:30 p.m.), and new bookings and changes are blocked for the day. |
| 8:25 – 10:06 a.m. | Waits for drivers on Mukilteo/Clinton reach about 2 hours at Mukilteo and 3 hours at Clinton. |
| 9:58 a.m. | Port Townsend/Coupeville loses the Kennewick for the day, citing crew and fog. |
| 10:19 a.m. | Point Defiance/Tahlequah may go out of service after the 12:10 p.m. sailing from Tahlequah. |
| 10:41 a.m. | Kitsap Transit adds two Bremerton fast ferries: 12:15 p.m. from Bremerton and 1:00 p.m. from Seattle's Pier 50. |
Why a few dozen sick calls can idle most of the fleet
WSF staffs its boats at the legal minimum. Its own planning document spells out why that turns a handful of absences into a systemwide shutdown.
Every WSF ferry sails under a U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection that fixes the minimum crew on board. WSF's 2026 Service Contingency Plan says the agency is budgeted to staff vessels with just enough crew to meet that minimum, so "if even one crew member is missing, the ferry may not be able to sail". The engine room is the tightest part. Depending on the class of boat, a ferry needs one or two licensed engineers plus one or two oilers or wipers, and engine crews belong to a particular vessel around the clock rather than to a route.
When someone calls out, a dispatcher has to find a qualified replacement. WSF says it handles about 190 relief requests on an ordinary day, and that engine-room shifts have lately been the hardest to fill. On Monday, according to WSF's statement, 23 engine-room employees called in sick and every employee qualified to cover them "declined to fill them". The agency said it honors sick leave and was investigating what was behind the number of callouts.
What gets cut first
When WSF is short of boats, its plan is to reduce Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth to two boats, Seattle/Bremerton to one and Port Townsend/Coupeville to one. On Monday the shortage went far beyond that list, and three routes lost all service.
How often crew cancels sailings
In July-September 2025 WSF cancelled 709 of 41,020 scheduled trips. Lack of crew caused 29 % of those cancellations, behind schedule resets after long delays (36 %) and just ahead of mechanical problems (24 %).
Sick-out or bad luck? WSF has not called it a job action. Dock workers told KIRO Newsradio (MyNorthwest) that engineers were calling out over pay, and several outlets report that the engineers, represented by the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (MEBA), want a raise of about 20 % in contract talks. Neither WSF nor MEBA had confirmed that link when we checked, and a union spokesperson told MyNorthwest they were only just hearing about it.
How long it lasts: what is scheduled and what is not
The crew shortage has no end date because WSF has not given one. The Edmonds closure does, and it is on top of whatever happens with the crews.
| What | When | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Crew-shortage cancellations | Monday, Oct. 5 | Ongoing at 10:45 a.m. Nothing posted for Tuesday yet |
| Edmonds/Kingston: BNSF closes the Main Street crossing to the dock | 7 p.m. Tue, Oct. 6, to about 10 a.m. Wed, Oct. 7 | Scheduled. Last boats Tuesday 6:10 p.m. from Kingston and 7:00 p.m. from Edmonds. First boats Wednesday 9:35 a.m. from Kingston and 10:20 a.m. from Edmonds. 22 departures cancelled in all |
| Extra Bremerton fast ferries (Kitsap Transit) | Monday, Oct. 5 | 12:15 p.m. from Bremerton, 1:00 p.m. from Seattle's Pier 50 |
| Kingston boarding pass for cars | 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily, through Oct. 12 | In force. Take the pass on SR 104 before the ticket booth |
WSF says the Wednesday restart depends on BNSF reopening the crossing as planned, and that it will post any change. The 22-trip total is our count from WSF's timetable for Oct. 6-7.
Getting across without your usual WSF boat
Passenger-only boats run by Kitsap Transit and King County are separate agencies with their own crews, fares and alerts, and they do not carry cars. Drivers mostly have long road detours.
| WSF route | On foot | By car |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle / Bainbridge Island | No passenger-only boat from Bainbridge. From elsewhere in Kitsap, the Bremerton or Kingston fast ferry goes to Pier 50 | Over the Agate Pass Bridge (SR 305), then SR 3 and SR 16 to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge |
| Edmonds / Kingston | Kingston Fast Ferry to Pier 50: 40 minutes, weekdays, first boat 5:25 a.m., last from Seattle 6:45 p.m. | Via Bainbridge when it runs (it did not on Monday), or around by the Tacoma Narrows Bridge |
| Seattle / Bremerton | Bremerton Fast Ferry, 30 minutes, plus Monday's two extra sailings. The Port Orchard foot ferry connects with it in Bremerton | One WSF boat is still running. Otherwise SR 16 and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge |
| Fauntleroy / Vashon / Southworth | King County Water Taxi, Vashon to Pier 50 (about 22 minutes), and the Southworth Fast Ferry (26 minutes) | For Vashon, Point Defiance/Tahlequah (at risk after 12:10 p.m. Monday). For Southworth, SR 16 and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge |
| Mukilteo / Clinton | None | Onto Whidbey Island from the north, over the Deception Pass Bridge (SR 20) |
| Port Townsend / Coupeville | None | No short road route. You would have to go around Puget Sound and come back up to Deception Pass |
| Point Defiance / Tahlequah | None | Vashon's other links are the Fauntleroy and Southworth boats, which were out on Monday |
| Anacortes / San Juan Islands | None by WSF. Reservation holders on cancelled sailings ride other departures, first come, first served | No road link |
The fast ferries have limits too. Kitsap Transit's fast ferries run Monday to Friday (Saturdays only May to September), and its timetable notes that the Kingston boat has no backup vessel until further notice. The Water Taxi keeps its own timetable. Check Kitsap Transit and the Water Taxi before relying on them.
Your ticket, your reservation and refunds
WSF has not announced a special refund program for Monday. The standard rules still help you.
1. Unused tickets stay good for 90 days
WSF tickets are valid for 90 days (free youth tickets for six hours), so a ticket you could not use on Monday still works on a later trip. Passenger tickets are round trip on most routes; Port Townsend/Coupeville is one of the exceptions.
2. Reservations: no-show fees waived
On the two reservation routes, WSF waived no-show fees on Monday. On Anacortes/San Juan Islands it also blocked new reservations and changes for the day and said holders of cancelled sailings would ride other departures, first come, first served.
3. Asking for money back
WSF refunds unused online orders and fees charged through the vehicle reservation system. Use the refund request form or call 206-464-6400, 888-808-7977 or 511 in Washington (7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily). Include your name, contact details, the date, time and terminal, the barcode or Wave2Go number and the amount. Ask before the ticket expires.
4. Other operators, other fares
Kitsap Transit and the King County Water Taxi sell their own fares. A WSF ticket does not carry over, and a fare you pay them is not a WSF refund item.
Other Pacific Northwest crossings on this site
None of these is run by Washington State Ferries, so Monday's crew callouts do not touch them.
- Washington State Ferries: travel alerts posted 5:08-10:41 a.m. PDT Oct. 5, 2026, and the Oct. 4 notice on the Edmonds/Kingston closure.
- WSF: Weekly Update, Oct. 1, 2026 (Edmonds/Kingston overnight closure, Oct. 6-7).
- WSF: Service Contingency Plan, April 2026 (crewing at the Coast Guard minimum, relief requests, order of service cuts, cancellation causes).
- WSF: Ticket information and Refunds.
- WSF statement on Monday's callouts, as published by KOMO News; dock workers' and union comments as reported by MyNorthwest.
- Kitsap Transit: Fast ferries and Kingston Fast Ferry timetable. King County Metro: Vashon Water Taxi.
Updated
By The Lauttainfo USA desk
An independent guide to American ferry crossings, from cable ferries on rural rivers to Puget Sound. Every page is dated and built from the operator's own notices and timetables.
Built from Washington State Ferries' own travel alerts (checked at 10:45 a.m. PDT on Oct. 5, 2026), WSF's 2026 Service Contingency Plan, its refunds and ticket information pages, and the timetables of Kitsap Transit and the King County Water Taxi. WSF's statement on the callouts is quoted as published by KOMO News. Claims about a coordinated sick-out and a pay demand come from local media and are labeled as such. Check WSF's alerts before you leave: sailings were being cancelled hour by hour on Monday.