MV Tillikum

The MV Tillikum is the sole remaining Evergreen State-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries (WSF) and the oldest ferry operating in the WSF system.

Tillikum in 2017
History
Name	Tillikum
Owner	WSDOT
Operator	Washington State Ferries
Port of registry	Seattle, Washington, United States
Builder	Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company
Laid down	November 10, 1958
Launched	April 1959
Completed	1959 Refit: 1994
Identification	IMO number: 8836120 MMSI number: 366773090 Callsign: WL3377[1] Official Number: D278437
Status	In Service
General characteristics
Class & type	Evergreen State-class auto/passenger ferry
Displacement	2,413 long tons (2,452 t)
Length	310 ft 2 in (94.5 m)
Beam	73 ft 2 in (22.3 m)
Draft	15 ft 6 in (4.7 m)
Decks	3
Deck clearance	13 ft 6 in (4.1 m)
Installed power	Total 2,500 hp (1,900 kW) from 2 diesel-electric engines
Propulsion	Diesel-electric (AC)
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Capacity	548 passengers 87 vehicles (max 30 commercial)[2]

History

MV Tillikum at Colman Dock in 1963

The Tillikum entered service in April 1959 for the Seattle–Bainbridge Island route.^[3] Upon the delivery of the Super-class ferries in 1968, the Tillikum was moved to the Edmonds-Kingston run where it remained until approximately 1980. After being displaced by the Issaquah-class ferry Chelan in the early 1980s, the Tillikum spent roughly a decade as a relief boat before settling on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run in the early 1990s. The Tillikum has become a reserve vessel since the delivery of the Samish in 2015. Since the retirement of its sister Klahowya in 2017, it has been serving primarily as the San Juan Inter-island vessel.