{{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=MV_Evergreen_State.jpg |image_caption=MV ''Evergreen State'' moored in [[Bellingham, Washington]] after a failed sale }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |name=''Evergreen State'' |owner=[[Washington State Department of Transportation|WSDOT]] |operator=[[Washington State Ferries]] |registry=[[Seattle|Seattle, Washington]], {{flag|United States}} |route=Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth |ordered= |builder= |original_cost= |yard_number= |way_number= |laid_down= |launched= |completed=*1954 *Refit: 1988 |christened= |acquired= |maiden_voyage= |in_service=November 27, 1954 |out_of_service=December 31, 2015 |identification=*{{IMO Number|8836132}} *{{MMSI Number|366773050}} *[[Maritime call sign|Callsign]]: WTQ6960<ref name="evergreen vessel">[http://www.evergreenfleet.com/evergreentoday.html The Evergreen State class today - M/V ''Evergreen State''], evergreenfleet.com</ref> *Official Number: D268732 |fate= |status=Retired |notes= }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class={{sclass|Evergreen State|ferry|0}} [[Ferry|auto/passenger ferry]] |tonnage= |displacement= |length={{convert|310|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} |beam={{convert|73|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} |height= |draught= |draft={{convert|15|ft|10|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |depth= |decks=1 auto deck/1 passenger deck |deck_clearance={{convert|13|ft|7|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |ramps= |ice_class= |sail_plan= |power=Total {{cvt|2,500|hp|lk=in}} from 2 × diesel-electric engines |propulsion= |speed={{convert|13|kn|lk=in}} |capacity=*981 passengers *87 vehicles (max 30 commercial)<ref name="vessel info">[http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/your_wsf/our_fleet/index.cfm?vessel_id=41 Vessel info - M/V ''Evergreen State''], WSF, WSDOT</ref> |crew= |notes= }} }} The '''MV ''Evergreen State''''' is a decommissioned {{sclass|Evergreen State|ferry}} that was operated by [[Washington State Ferries]] from 1954 to 2015. She was built in [[Seattle]] and used surplus engines from {{USS|Mitchell}}, a [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] destroyer escort that had been purchased by the [[Puget Sound Navigation Company]].
She was named for the state of [[Washington (state)|Washington]], whose nickname is "The Evergreen State". When delivered in 1954, the Evergreen State was assigned to the [[Seattle–Winslow Ferry|Seattle-Winslow run]] serving [[Bainbridge Island]]. She was reassigned to the San Juan Islands in 1959 where she remained for the majority of her active career for Washington State Ferries. However, the ferry also was used as a relief vessel on the Seattle to Winslow runs in the 1960s.
From June 2000 until the retirement of the {{sclass2|Steel Electric|ferry|4}} in November 2007 this ferry was used as a relief vessel. The sudden retirement of the Steel Electrics forced the full-time reactivation of the ''Evergreen State''. After reactivation, the ''Evergreen State'' was the inter-island service vessel in the [[San Juan Islands]].
The ''Evergreen State'' left the San Juan Islands for good on June 29, 2014, replaced by her sister ship {{MV|Klahowya}}, and made her last sailing from Friday Harbor at 2:15 PM and from Lopez Island at 3:05 PM. Following that sailing, she sailed to Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island. A month after 'retirement', a substantial fleet shortage resulted in the reactivation of the ''Evergreen State'',<ref>{{cite news |date=August 4, 2014 |title=Damage to ferry Tacoma more extensive than believed |url=http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/local-news/damage-to-ferry-tacoma-more-extensive-than-believed_41310821 |newspaper=[[Kitsap Sun]] |accessdate=January 20, 2016 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201200930/http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/local-news/damage-to-ferry-tacoma-more-extensive-than-believed_41310821 |archivedate=February 1, 2015 }}</ref> and for some time thereafter the vessel was intermittently in service - usually on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth triangle route. Galley Service has not been provided on the ''Evergreen State'' since the mid 2000s.
On January 14, 2016, Washington State Ferries issued a press release stating that the ferry "has been decommissioned and will soon be put up for sale."<ref>{{cite press release |date=January 14, 2016 |title=State's oldest ferry officially decommissioned |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2016/01/14_WSF.htm |publisher=Washington State Ferries |accessdate=January 20, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=DeMay |first=Daniel |date=January 15, 2016 |title=Oldest state ferry officially retired |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/transportation/article/Ferries-system-retires-M-V-Evergreen-State-ferry-6762438.php |newspaper=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] |accessdate=January 20, 2016}}</ref> The vessel was sold in March 2017 to Jones Broadcasting for $300,000, with the intent of using it in the [[Caribbean Sea]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Jessica |date=March 1, 2017 |title=State's oldest ferryboat is sold; heading to the Caribbean |url=http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/states-oldest-ferryboat-is-sold-heading-to-the-caribbean/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=March 1, 2017}}</ref>
The ferry was moored at the [[Port of Olympia]] in preparation for its move to Florida, but Jones failed to move the vessel for more than a year and fell behind on dockage payments.<ref>{{cite news |last=Boone |first=Rolf |date=May 16, 2019 |title=Port of Olympia could seize former state ferry after owner falls behind on payments |url=https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article230440759.html |work=The Olympian |accessdate=January 22, 2020}}</ref> ''Evergreen State'', renamed "The Dream", was listed on [[eBay]] in January 2020 with a starting bid of $100,000.<ref>{{cite news |last=Boone |first=Rolf |date=January 22, 2020 |title=You know that ferry moored at the Port of Olympia? It's for sale -- on eBay |url=https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article239527363.html |work=The Olympian |accessdate=January 22, 2020}}</ref> The auction ended with 130 bids and a final price of $205,100 from an unnamed buyer,<ref>{{cite news |last=Halverson |first=Alex |date=February 3, 2020 |title=First ferry built for Washington state system sells—again—for $200K |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/local/transportation/article/First-ferry-built-for-Washington-sells-again-15026689.php |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |accessdate=February 4, 2020}}</ref> who planned to convert it into an art studio. The auction was nonbinding and the vessel was sold to another owner, Bart Lemetta, instead.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 5, 2020 |title='We are bummed': Winning eBay bidder for Washington state ferry says owner sold vessel to someone else |url=https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/winning-ebay-bidder-evergreen-state-ferry-says-owner-sold-vessel-someone-else/281-c2a4bad4-8a86-4d38-9f59-7e7fa48e5224 |publisher=[[KING-TV|KING 5 News]] |accessdate=February 9, 2020}}</ref> Lemetta moved the ferry to [[Langley, Washington|Langley]] and began refurbishing it into an electric vessel in 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Andrea |date=February 15, 2022 |title=He's the guy who bought a boat — a big old $290,000 state ferry |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/hes-the-guy-who-bought-a-boat-a-big-old-290000-state-ferry/ |work=The Everett Herald |accessdate=February 17, 2022}}</ref> It has been moored in [[Bellingham, Washington|Bellingham]] since 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Alexander |first=Jemma |date=December 14, 2022 |title=What's the Deal With: The ferry moored in the Port of Bellingham? |url=https://www.cascadiadaily.com/news/2022/dec/14/whats-the-deal-with-the-ferry-moored-in-the-port-of-bellingham/ |work=[[Cascadia Daily News]] |accessdate=December 3, 2023}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{WSF Ferry Classes}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evergreen State, MV}} [[Category:Washington State Ferries vessels]] [[Category:1954 ships]]
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