Winning bid for ferry at Port of Olympia was $205,100. Or was it?
The former Washington state ferry that has been docked at the Port of Olympia’s marine terminal for nearly two years appears to have sold on eBay over the weekend for slightly more than $200,000.
But the owner, Greg Jones, who at one time talked about using the ferry in Florida, said Monday the sale hasn’t closed just yet.
“I still need to get paid,” he said, adding that he wasn’t willing to comment at length. He hoped to have more information about the transaction later in the week.
The ferry, once known as The Evergreen State, was listed on eBay under a 10-day auction. The auction closed Friday night and attracted 130 bids, finally pushing the sales price to $205,100.
If the winning bid holds true, it represents a loss of almost $100,000 for Jones, who paid $300,000 for the 310-foot ferry in 2017. After he bought the ferry, he docked it at the port, not always paying his docking fees to the port on time.
Since April 2018, Jones has paid more than $80,000 to the port to moor the ferry. His most recent payment to the port was on Jan. 2. However, a balance is currently due for the months of December and January, according to the port.
Port spokeswoman Jennie Foglia-Jones said the port is prepared to work with the ferry’s new owner, but it does not want it to be a longterm relationship.
The Olympian reported in March 2018 that The Evergreen State, at the time of its sale, was the state’s oldest ferry at 63. Built in 1954, it was powered by surplus drive motors from a Navy destroyer escort and served on several routes, including Seattle to Bainbridge Island and San Juan Islands inter-island routes, according to the state.
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
