If you have ever wanted to own an iconic Washington state ferry, now may be your last chance to buy one until the 2030s. There are two sizes available with no minimum bid — the decommissioned 144-car Hyak and the 87-car Klahowya.

But before you get carried away with dreams of a palatial waterfront fixer-upper, or opening a floating restaurant, or making a quick buck off the scrap metal, be aware of the scrutiny you stand to receive.

“It’s more challenging than most people would have guessed,” said John Vezina, the deputy head of the state ferry system. “We’re not going to sign off on anything that isn’t ironclad that it can work.”

The Hyak and Klahowya have been sitting on the market unsold for more than a year since the state terminated a prior sales contract with an Ecuadorian middleman in summer 2024.

Businessman Nelson Armas paid $200,000 with the intention of towing his purchases to Ecuador for scrapping. The deal went awry when the hired tugboat could not safely connect to two ferries, among other mishaps. The South American tugboat crew ended up deported.

“It’s incredibly difficult to sell decommissioned vessels,” Vezina said in an interview.

Steps to complete a purchase, he explained, include getting a Coast Guard-approved plan for towing and a Department of Ecology sign-off.

“There is a lot of superficial initial buyer interest,” Vezina said. “Most inquiries don’t go too far.”

Washington State Ferries retired the Hyak and Klahowya after it became too costly to keep them running. The Klahowya is an Evergreen State-class vessel built in 1958. The Hyak was one of four Super-class ferries built in San Diego. It was launched in 1966.

Vezina said maintenance workers have stripped key parts for re-use on other ferries. That makes it more difficult and expensive for any buyer to recertify the two ships for service. The vessels for sale no longer have their navigation gear, radars, radios or lifeboats. Even the Hyak’s horn was removed and reinstalled in Climate Pledge Arena as the goal horn for Seattle Kraken hockey games.

The state ferry system is relying on word of mouth to sell these two retired ferries, unlike in years past when it held public auctions. There is no webpage with details as of yet. Serious shoppers can request marine survey reports. Those 2025 inspections described the two ferries as structurally sound, but in fair to poor overall condition.

Vezina said the agency would like the pair of vessels gone as soon as a suitable buyer can be found. The ferries are taking up valuable space in the ferry system’s Eagle Harbor shipyard.

Armas and the Ecuadorian steel company are still circling for a second chance to buy the aged boats (or get a refund, in Armas’ case), Vezina said. Washington State Ferries appeared reluctant to do business with them again.

Plan B

Leadership at Washington State Ferries has started to contemplate what to do if no viable buyer emerges.

“If we can’t find anybody to take them off our hands,” said Steve Nevy, head of the state ferry system, “Plan B is to try to look at recycling facilities.”

The trouble with plan B is that there is no established shipbreaking facility nearby for large vessels like this. Additionally, WSF has no money in its budget currently to pay for disposal. The costs of towing, drydock time, labor and hazardous materials handling at a reputable shipbreaking yard likely far exceed the profit to be gained from the scrap metal.

BC Ferries has a similar problem and politicians from Vancouver Island are offering a possible solution. They are proposing that the provincial and federal governments pony up to expand and equip a private shipyard — or shipyards — in Port Alberni to handle large ship deconstruction. Mid-Vancouver Island Member of Parliament Gord Johns said up to 14 British Columbia ferries could be destined for recycling when their replacements enter service over the next decade.

“The 14 vessels that are at end of life will require recycling at a cost of between $10 [million] and $12 million each,” Johns told Nanaimo News Now. “In the case of the Queen of Burnaby [ferry] they’re spending just half of that cost just to tow it through the Panama Canal and up to Halifax where it can be recycled because we don’t have facilities here.”

The potential establishment of the Port Alberni shipbreaking facility to keep the money and jobs close to home comes with a long timeline. Federal and provincial subsidies are needed, and indigenous First Nations must be consulted. It’s unlikely to open in time to recycle the Hyak or Klahowya. But a British Columbia yard could figure into the disposal plans for Washington ferries that retire in the 2030s after the state takes delivery of new hybrid-electric vessels.

Cautionary tales

Anyone who buys a retired ferry in the Pacific Northwest will likely be dogged by the mixed record of successful repurposings, unrealized dreams and past purchasers’ fiascos, agreed Steve Pickens, curator of the ferry history website EvergreenFleet.com.

Sooner or later, the conversation returns to the most famous former Washington state ferry, the streamlined art deco Kalakala, aka “the Silver Slug.” In 1998, the historic ferry was rescued by a preservationist from its second life as a seafood cannery in Alaska. But a series of subsequent owners lacked the wherewithal to restore the Kalakala, leading to many public disputes, further decay and eventual scrapping in 2015.

“Darn that Kalakala,” said Bart Lematta, the third owner of the retired state ferry Evergreen State, during a spicy public discussion with the Port of Bellingham commissioners. Lematta’s ferry is now moored in Bellingham, awaiting conversion to battery-electric propulsion.

The port commissioners displayed mild irritation this past year with Lematta’s slow pace of progress to put the old ferry to a productive use on their waterfront. The 310-foot Evergreen State is a sister ship of the Klahowya that is now for sale.

Lematta provided perspective on the cost of ownership of a retired ferry. He said moorage at the port pier cost him $72,000 per year and the price of vessel insurance through Lloyds of London was $139,000 annually.

A twin of the Hyak, the bigger ferry also now for sale, recently found a good home at an Everett shipyard. Everett Ship Repair purchased the retired ferry Elwha for $100,000 and converted it into a floating office and storage complex.

Other successful ferry re-use examples include the Hiyu and the Skansonia, which are now party and event venues moored on opposite sides of Seattle’s Lake Union.

The worst case is to see an old ferryboat left to decay on a beach. That’s happened multiple times on Puget Sound and in Alaska.

One ex-captain from Steilacoom even managed to abandon two ferries consecutively in Pierce County, one acquired from Virginia and the other a second-hand purchase of the former state ferry Olympic. Neither of those has budged to this day.

“We don’t want these boats abandoned on Washington beaches,” said the state ferry system’s Vezina, having the Pierce County outcome in mind. “Absolutely.”

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