Navigating staffing challenges: The realities behind WSF’s San Juans’ interisland service

The following piece was written by John Vezina, Director, Planning, Customer and Government Relations for WSF.

We know how much our ferry service means to island communities. But the geography of the San Juans can make it hard to staff our interisland boat reliably. This overview explains our commitment and the challenges we face.

Crewing the San Juans’ interisland ferry

Each sailing season starts with fully crewed boats with vacation reliefs filled when requested. But if someone calls in sick, has childcare issues or gets a flat tire, we can’t sail until we fill their spot. This year, the Legislature gave us money to add an extra ordinary sailor (deck) and oiler (engine room) to each sailing. Unfortunately, we don’t have backups for other crew positions, so if we don’t meet Coast Guard requirements, we can’t sail until we find someone. This is especially tough on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands and interisland routes because most of our employees live far away.

Our interisland ferry is based in Friday Harbor, which most crew members can’t reach by road. This makes it very hard to find relief employees.

For staff who don’t live near Anacortes, commuting to Friday Harbor adds at least five hours to their day. This makes it less attractive for them to fill relief requests on the interisland vessel. Instead, they prefer working overtime on routes closer to home.

New initiatives to support crew

Since our interisland route is a priority and one of the first to be restored, we’ve looked for ways to address these challenges. We’ve hired a charter boat to help crew members travel between Anacortes and Friday Harbor. We’ve also added wage incentives for those who work on the interisland ferry. However, work agreements don’t allow us to schedule overtime. Our on-call pool, which some see as a hiring barrier, is needed to cover staffing for all routes.

We’ve also thought about moving the interisland boat to Anacortes, to make it easier for employees to report for shifts. But this would mean the boat would have to stop in Anacortes at least four times a day for crew changes, reducing interisland service. It would also affect jobs for crew members who live in the San Juan Islands, who are our most reliable staff for this route. The high cost of living and limited housing on the islands make it hard for new crew members to move there. We will work with San Juan County officials to explore housing options for our employees.

USCG regulations limit how many hours a crew member can work in one day. If the interisland vessel falls too far behind schedule, we may have to cancel evening sailings to keep crew from working too many hours. If they work too long, they can’t work the next day. Delays can be caused by weather, medical emergencies or even small issues like someone locking their keys in their car.

Starting in winter 2025, we’re changing our sailing schedules to make service more reliable. These updates will help with crew changes and make crossing and docking times more realistic.

Sharing information with customers

We’re also improving how we communicate with our customers. If you sign up for our rider alerts, we’ll let you know if there’s a crew shortage on the interisland ferry. We send alerts three times a day if there are open relief requests so you can plan ahead. This is especially important for county workers and students commuting to school in Friday Harbor, so they can get home if the last trip of the day is canceled.

We’ve also made alternate schedules for when the interisland vessel is out of service. The three boats that serve Anacortes make extra stops to help interisland customers reach their destinations.

Our interisland route staffing challenges are clear in recent service data. From Aug. 1 to Sept. 2, we canceled 33 out of 1,814 sailings (1.8%) for the three ferries connecting the islands with Anacortes. During the same period, we canceled 120 out of 822 interisland sailings (14.6%).

We expect things to get better as we hire new employees and train existing crew members into higher positions. With a larger workforce and the changes above, more reliable service will come to our interisland route. We know how important it is to avoid interisland cancellations, and we are working hard to make service more reliable.