The MV Klickitat was a Steel Electric-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.

Klickitat approaching Port Townsend dock in 2004.
History
Name
  • 1927–1940: MV Stockton
  • 1940–2009: MV Klickitat
Owner
Operator
Port of registrySeattle,  USA
BuilderBethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, San Francisco, California
Completed
  • Built: 1927
  • Refit: 1958, 1981
In service1927
Out of serviceNovember 20, 2007
Identification
FateScrapped in 2009, Ensenada, Mexico
General characteristics
Class and typeSteel Electric-class auto/passenger ferry
Length256 ft (78 m)
Beam73 ft 10 in (22.5 m)
Draft12 ft 9 in (3.9 m)
Deck clearance13 ft 4 in (4.1 m)
Installed powerTotal 2,400 hp (1,800 kW) from 2 x diesel-electric engines
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Capacity
  • 617 passengers
  • 64 vehicles (max 24 commercial)[1]

Originally built as the MV Stockton in San Francisco for Southern Pacific Railroad, she started out serving Southern Pacific Railways on their Golden Gate Ferries line on San Francisco Bay. She was purchased by the Puget Sound Navigation Company in 1940, moved to Puget Sound, and renamed the MV Klickitat. PSN operated her until Washington State Ferries acquired and took over operations in 1951.[2]

In 1978 Klickitat was used for exterior shots in the Emergency! TV movie "Most Deadly Passage", a story about this ferry catching fire while at sea due to gasoline, instead of diesel, being put into one of the ship's fuel tanks. It was being used on the Seattle-Bremerton route in the episode.

She was serving on the Keystone-Port Townsend crossing in November 2007 when the entire Steel Electric class was withdrawn from service due to hull corrosion issues.

In August 2009 the Klickitat and the other three Steel Electric ferries were sold to Eco Planet Recycling, Inc. of Chula Vista, California. All four ferries were scrapped in Ensenada, Mexico in the fall of 2009.[2] One of the original 1927 wheelhouses (removed in the 1981 rebuild) of the Klickitat was salvaged and converted into a small house currently located just outside Arlington, Washington.

References

edit
  1. ^ Vessel Information on the MV Klickitat - WSDOT, WSF
  2. ^ a b The MV Klickitat - evergreenfleet.com