Brief Description: Designating the Lady Washington as the official ship of the state of Washington.

Sponsors: By Representatives Blake, VanDeWege, Kessler, Takko, Morrell, Curtis, Eickmeyer, Moeller, McCoy, Pettigrew, Haigh, Simpson, Lantz, Upthegrove, B. Sullivan, Linville, Hunt, Conway, Kenney, Wallace and Santos.

House Committee on State Government & Tribal Affairs
Senate Committee on Government Operations & Elections

Background:

The Lady Washington is well-recognized as the "HMS Interceptor" from the movie Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. She is a reproduction sailing ship of the original Washington/Lady Washington that sailed from approximately 1750-1798. Her vessel type is a "brig," indicating the configuration of the sails. In addition to the Lady Washington's star turn in the blockbuster, Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, she was also used in Star Trek: Generations (1994) and in Treasure Planet (2002) as a reference for the "RLS Legacy."

The Lady Washington was built over a two-year period and launched on March 7, 1989. The ship was designed by Ray Wallace (since deceased) and built in Aberdeen by the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority. Master shipwrights from all over the Pacific Northwest constructed her in a building (now demolished) at the confluence of the Wishkah and Chehalis rivers.

The Lady Washington is owned and operated by the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit Public Development Authority based in Aberdeen. The Office of the Secretary of State for the State of Washington holds a mortgage on the vessel to secure the investment of the people of Washington.

In 1983, the Legislature christened by resolution the President Washington, a large container ship, as the state ship. This action was not codified, and there are no other records of the action. This ship, however, has since been sold to a Japanese-Hawaiian company, renamed the MV Maroon, and is no longer docked in Washington.

Summary:

The Lady Washington is designated as the official ship of the State of Washington.

Votes on Final Passage:

House   94   0
Senate   44   1

Effective: July 22, 2007