The MV ''Tillikum'' is the sole remaining operated by
Washington State Ferries
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals loca ...
(WSF) and the oldest ferry operating in the WSF system.
The ''Tillikum'' entered service in April 1959 for the
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
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Bainbridge Island
Bainbridge Island is a city and island in Kitsap County, Washington. It is located in Puget Sound. The population was 23,025 at the 2010 census and an estimated 25,298 in 2019, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County.
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route.
Upon the delivery of the ferries in 1968, the ''Tillikum'' was moved to the
Edmonds-Kingston run where it remained until approximately 1980. After being displaced by the ferry 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 in 2015. Since the retirement of her sister in 2017, she has been serving primarily as the San Juan Inter-island vessel.
References
Washington State Ferries vessels
1959 ships
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