Nation's fleet of ferries has some old-timers at work

ORIENT POINT, N.Y. -- The Susan Anne departs from an eastern Long Island dock with a deck full of cars and dozens of passengers, and sails smoothly for 80 minutes across the Long Island Sound to New London, Conn.

Built in 1964, when Lyndon Johnson was president and The Beatles first came to America, the 250-foot-long Susan Anne is one of many old boats in the nation's aging ferry fleet. Most are at least decades old, and some were built before World War II.

Ferries such as the 44-year-old Susan Anne are at the heart of a spirited debate among engineers and public officials about when — or even if — old boats reach an age when they can no longer operate safely. Washington state is mulling mandatory retirement for its ferries, and Greece now requires ferries to be taken out of service after 30 years. But many experts say that age is just a number for a well-maintained ferry, and that public safety isn't an issue.

In November, Paula Hammond, Washington state's transportation secretary, ordered four 80-year-old ferries removed from service after corrosion was found in two boats' steel hulls. A month earlier, 160 cracks had been found in the four boats' hulls, but only one posed a structural concern, says Paul Brodeur of Washington State Ferries, the state agency that owns 28 ferries and operates the nation's largest system.

The Coast Guard, which oversees the safety of most U.S. ferries, says the corrosion was "a major concern," but not severe enough to cause the ferries to sink. Extensive corrosion could cause a boat to capsize or sink by allowing water to leak in through a hole in the hull.

Hammond decided not to repair the boats and ordered them permanently removed from service because "safety is our number one priority." A special inspection of 14 other old ferries found nine that needed steel replaced or repaired.

Hammond says that "keeping boats for 80 years is not going to happen again." Washington legislators aim to develop a vessel-replacement strategy that replaces boats at 60 years, she says.

By that standard, more than one quarter of the USA's ferry fleet would face retirement in the next 20 years, a development that could cost governments and private operators an estimated $1 billion or more for replacement.

A USA TODAY analysis of Department of Transportation data shows that, in 2006, 23% of 625 ferries for which age information is available were 40 years or older; 5% were 60 years or older. The oldest is the Adirondack, built in 1913. It sails Lake Champlain between Burlington, Vt., and Port Kent, N.Y.

Lots of passengers

Ferries are a vital part of America's transportation system, carrying more than 97 million passengers annually in 38 states. About 24 million ride each year on Washington State Ferries' extensive system.

New York's Staten Island Ferry shuttles about 20 million passengers annually. Ferries operated by the Texas Department of Transportation carry more than 8 million passengers annually, mostly in the Galveston and Corpus Christi areas.