By Doug Esser
The Associated Press
The state ferry service isn’t going to start turning away hefty passengers, but it has had to reduce the capacity of some boats in the nation’s largest ferry system because people have been packing on the pounds.
Coast Guard vessel stability rules that took effect nationwide Dec. 1 raised the estimated weight of the average adult passenger to 185 pounds from the previous 160 pounds, based on population information from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That has resulted in a reduced capacity for some of the Washington State Ferry system’s boats.
The change doesn’t affect the Salish, which can carry 750 passengers as it plies the route between Port Townsend and Coupeville on Whidbey Island, or any other vessels in the
Kwa-di Tabil class, said Marta Coursey, Washington State Ferries spokeswoman.
The change does apply to some larger ferries, such as the Evergreen State and Tillikum, she said.
And the Coast Guard said smaller charter fishing vessels could be affected.
During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States and about one-third of American adults are now considered obese, the CDC says on its website.
The state ferry system has complied with the new stability rules by simply reducing the listed capacity of some of its vessels, Coast Guard Lt. Eric Young said Wednesday.
“That has effectively reduced the amount of passengers by about 250 passengers or so depending on the particular ferry,” said Young, who is based in Seattle.
“They generally carry about 2,000, so it’s down to 1,750 now.”
With that many passengers, the ferry wouldn’t tip over even if everyone ran to the side at the same time to look at a pod of orcas, he said.
The reduced passenger capacity is unlikely to have much practical effect on the spacious ferries, Coursey said.
The ferries often fill up with vehicles, but the number of passengers, especially walk-ons is seldom a problem, she said.
The new stability rules may have a bigger impact on the smaller charter fishing boats, such as those that take anglers fishing out of the Pacific Ocean ports of Westport and Ilwaco, Young said.
Any vessel that carries more than six paying customers has to be inspected and certified by the Coast Guard as a passenger vessel.
The state operates 23 white and green vessels on 10 routes across Puget Sound and through the San Juan Islands to British Columbia.
Carrying more than
22 million passengers a year, it’s the biggest ferry system in the United States and one of the four largest in the world, Coursey said.
The ferries themselves could be contributing to passenger girth.
The galleys cater to customers looking for fast food they can eat while looking out the windows at the scenery and seagulls.
Calorie counters typically aren’t buying the hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken strips.
“We do serve light beer,” said Peggy Wilkes who has worked 20 years for the food concessionaire, Olympic Cascade Services, which serves food and drinks on 12 of the state ferries.
News reports of overloaded ferries sinking in other parts of the world are sometimes a topic of discussion, she said.
“I think it’s cool the Coast Guard is keeping up on that,” she said.
“Not that we overload them. A couple of times, like for a Seahawks game, we’ve had to cut off passengers and had to leave them at the dock.”
