PORT TOWNSEND – Washington State Ferries officials expected to secure passenger ferry service on Friday, but don’t know what time a ferry will be in place or when the first departure time might be.
“We are hoping to be up and running on Friday, but we won’t know when until we are set up,” said Hadley Green, communications manager for the state ferries system, Wednesday.
The plan is to operate the high-speed passenger ferry Snohomish between Port Townsend and Keystone on Whidbey Island, following the same schedule used for vehicle ferries.
On Wednesday, the Snohomish, a 120-foot, 300-passenger catamaran fast ferry, was awaiting a crew, cleanup and maintenance, followed by a thorough Coast Guard inspection.
The vessel has been tied up at the ferry system’s Eagle Harbor holding facility on Bainbridge Island since 2003.
The ferry will replace the 80-year-old Steel Electric vehicle ferry Klickitat, which is moored at Port Townsend’s ferry holding slip until further notice.
State ferries system officials pulled all four Steel Electrics out of service on Tuesday, saying their safety was in doubt.
Excessive pitting had been discovered in the steel hull of the ferry Quinault, which is the same age and class as the Klickitat, the Illahee and Nisqually ferries.
