Kennewick ferry returns to service for Port Townsend-Coupeville run

Published 12:01 am Thursday, August 20, 2015

PORT TOWNSEND — The MV Kennewick was back in service Wednesday after being taken offline due to a propeller problem Tuesday.

The vessel left Port Townsend for the 8:45 a.m. sailing, and operators detected the problem while it was still in the harbor, said Ian Sterling, Washington State Ferries spokesman.

It returned to the dock and unloaded its passengers, who were taken on the route, which runs between Port Townsend and Coupeville, on the next available ferry.

Those passengers were given priority over those who were waiting on line, Sterling said, and new reservations were not accepted until the vessel returned to the route at 2:45 p.m.

No show fees were suspended until the service returned.

The Kennewick missed seven sailings, during which time the MV Salish provided single boat service.

Sterling said the incident didn’t cause any service problems, although “it’s a good thing this didn’t happen on the weekend.”