Port of Olympia seizes ferry and will auction it off if debts aren’t paid by June 25
The Port of Olympia is a step closer to becoming the owner of a former Washington state ferry known as the Evergreen State.
That’s according to an update on the ferry the port commission received last week from marine terminal director Len Faucher. The 300-foot ferry has been moored at the port for two years.
Greg Jones, the ferry’s owner who reportedly operates a business on the East Coast known as Jones Broadcasting, made his last payment to the port in early January, Faucher said. The port later issued a notice of delinquency and seized the vessel on Feb. 25.
Jones has until June 25 to pay the port about $32,000 for “operations and labor,” Faucher said.
Faucher said Monday that if the debt isn’t paid by June 25, the vessel is considered “abandoned,” and the port commission can authorize a public sale.
If the ferry doesn’t sell, or it’s not removed from the premises, or if other arrangements aren’t made, the title of the vessel will revert to the port within 10 days of the public sale, Faucher said.
“We still have people asking us about it all the time,” Commissioner E.J. Zita said about the ferry, adding that it “sounds like we’re going to end up owning that thing, even though we didn’t really want to and we were advised not to.”
She asked whether there were any environmental concerns posed by the vessel, or the possibility of fire.
The Olympia Fire Department recently evaluated the ferry, Faucher said, and it receives regular visual inspections.
Another concern: Insurance on the vessel was paid by the owner through February, but it was not renewed, Faucher said.
“June 25 can’t come soon enough,” Commissioner Joe Downing said.
The ferry arrived at the port in April 2018 for what was expected to be a “two month layberth” at the marine terminal, Faucher said. Instead, it became two years of inaction. The owner had periodic hiccups with payments to the port, but did pay the port about $80,000 through early January of this year.
Jones also tried to sell the vessel on eBay in early February, but that sale fell through.
Winning bidder Nathan Altman asked for documentation about the vessel, including proof of ownership, but he claims Jones didn’t want to provide any of that until he transferred the money, The Olympian reported.
Altman found that disconcerting, so he said he reached out to Jones again, only to be told that Jones had found a different buyer.
This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 12:08 PM.
