[2] The collision was initially blamed on the failure of a steering component, but was later found to have been caused by Captain Billy Fittro going off-course to give a visitor a view of her waterfront home.

Hurricane-force winds ripped mooring lines and repeatedly slammed the now partially adrift ferry into the concrete pier it was tied up alongside.

[10] On September 8, 1999, the vessel suffered another serious accident when a software glitch led to it ramming the Orcas Island ferry dock, causing $3.8 million worth of damage to the linkspan and other terminal structures.

[12][13] In April 2018, an inspection of the ferry uncovered 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) of corroded steel beneath the floor of the Elwha's main passenger cabin.

In July 2019, just eight months after her return to service, another routine inspection at Lake Union Drydock uncovered further steel corrosion on the ferry's car deck.

[16] On August 16, 2024, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced that the decommissioned Elwha and Klahowya would be sold for $100,000 each to Ecuadorian businessman Nelson Armas.