PORT ANGELES — With more delays likely in towing the ferry Kalakala out of Neah Bay, efforts are under way to inspect and secure the derelict vessel to make sure threatening weather doesn’t sink it.
The Coast Guard, state Department of Natural Resources, Makah tribe and Kalakala owner Steve Rodrigues — who has been threatened with thousands of dollars in fines after missing a Wednesday deadline — are working together to make the vessel secure.
“We are not trying to figure out when he is going to move it — we are recognizing that he is not going to move the boat,” said Fran McNair, DNR aquatics steward, who oversees state-owned tidelands and bedlands, part of which the Kalakala is moored over in Neah Bay.
“We have no money — but we need to do something about it.
“We’ll just have to try to secure it because we just don’t have anyplace to put it.
“We need to at least check the boat’s condition and secure her so she is safe.”
DNR officials consider Rodrigues to be trespassing on state land, she said.
Meanwhile, Capt. John Veentjer, Coast Guard prevention office chief for the Puget Sound Marine Safety Office, acknowledged Thursday that Rodrigues had sent a written request to the Coast Guard, asking for a seven-day extension to secure or tow the vessel out of Neah Bay.
Veentjer said Rodrigues is still subject to Coast Guard penalties, up to $32,500 a day, until he carried out Captain of the Port Danny Ellis’ order to properly secure the vessel in the bay before winter weather arrives in gale force.
