MV Hiyu
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | MV Hiyu |
| Owner: | WSDOT |
| Operator: | Washington State Ferries |
| Port of registry: | Seattle, Washington, US |
| Builder: | Gunderson Brothers, Portland, Oregon |
| Cost: | $750,000 (1967) |
| Completed: | 1967 |
| In service: | Summer 1967 |
| Out of service: | May 17, 2016 |
| Identification: |
|
| Status: | Retired |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Hiyu-class auto/passenger ferry |
| Length: | 162 ft (49.4 m) |
| Beam: | 63 ft 1 in (19.2 m) |
| Draft: | 11 ft 3 in (3.4 m) |
| Deck clearance: | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
| Installed power: | Total 860 hp from 2 diesel engines |
| Speed: | 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Capacity: |
|
The MV Hiyu was a ferry boat operated by Washington State Ferries. Originally built in 1967 to replace an earlier ferry, it was used on the Point Defiance–Tahlequah route during its early years. Upon its retirement in 2016, it was the smallest ferry in the fleet, with a capacity of 34 cars and 200 passengers, and a length of 162 feet (49 m).
The Hiyu was originally built in 1967 by Gunderson Brothers in Portland, Oregon to replace the aging wooden ferry MV Skansonia on the Point Defiance–Tahlequah ferry, which had a capacity of 32 cars at the time and a clearance of 11 feet (3.4 m) on her car deck. The Hiyu was slightly bigger and faster than her predecessor, but most importantly, she had a higher clearance in her two center lanes, allowing trucks to reach Vashon Island without having to drive to Fauntleroy.
The Hiyu worked the short route between Vashon Island and Tacoma until the late-1980s. By then, she could no longer handle the increased traffic on the route and was replaced with the 55-car MV Olympic.
Washington State Ferries reassigned her to the San Juan Islands where she served as the inter-island boat, serving San Juan Island, Orcas Island, Shaw Island and Lopez Island. By the late-1990s, the Hiyu's small size became an issue once again on the San Juan inter-island route, and she was replaced by a larger vessel, the MV Nisqually.
She was mothballed for over 10 years at Washington State Ferries' maintenance facility in Eagle Harbor. During that period, she was mainly used as a WSF training vessel. She was also used for filming some movies and television commercials, including a commercial for the Seattle Seahawks football team in 1999. Occasionally, she was contracted out for service on the Steilacoom-Anderson Island ferry route when the MV Christine Anderson needed emergency repairs.
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