MV Nisqually

MV Nisqually was a Steel Electric-class ferry formerly operated by Washington State Ferries. Originally built as MV Mendocino in San Francisco for Northwestern Pacific Railroad, she started out serving Southern Pacific Railways on their Golden Gate Ferries line on San Francisco Bay. She was purchased by the Puget Sound Navigation Company in 1940, and moved to Puget Sound where she was renamed Nisqually, later being acquired by Washington State Ferries who took over operations in 1951. In July 1963 Nisqually was working on the Edmonds-Kingston route. The ferry was heading to Edmonds when a tanker struck Nisqually. No one was hurt, but the ferry suffered major damage. If the hull was not sponsoned out 8 feet (2.4 m) in 1958, the ferry would have sunk. On November 20, 2007, the entire Steel Electric class was withdrawn from service due to hull corrosion issues. Nisqually was not in service at the time. Washington State Ferries sold Nisqually and her sister ferries to Eco Planet Recycling, Inc. of Chula Vista, California for scrap. All four ferries were sold for $200,000. Nisqually and Quinault were towed out of Eagle Harbor on August 7, 2009, arriving in Ensenada, Mexico on August 16. Presumably, Nisqually was cut up sometime between February and April 2011.