PORT TOWNSEND – Service would cease on the Port Townsend-Keystone route if the MV Klickitat ferry breaks down, Washington State Ferries’ top executive said.
“As long as one Steel Electric class vessel is operable, Washington State Ferries is able to provide service on the Port Townsend-Keystone route,” Executive Director Mike Anderson said on Tuesday, as he addressed the Port Townsend-Keystone Ferry Route Partnership group.
“If all four vessels are taken out of service, there are no other viable options for passenger-vehicle services on this route,” Anderson said.
State ferry system officials have all but exhausted a nationwide search for a ferry to back up the Steel Electrics, Anderson said.
The Port Townsend-Keystone run was reduced to one vessel, the Klickitat, after the ferry MV Nisqually was pulled from service to remove concrete ballast from its hull.
Concrete was removed to allow the Coast Guard closer inspection of the 80-year-old vessels.
The move left the Port Townsend-Keystone run with one boat and 90-minute waits a month earlier than normal.
Typically, two boats run on the Port Townsend-Keystone ferry route from Mother’s Day to Columbus Day.
The Steel Electrics are the only ferries in Washington State Ferries’ system capable of operating on the Port Townsend-Keystone route because of Keystone’s narrow and shallow harbor.
Although state ferries is building four new 144-car vessels, they would not serve the Port Townsend-Keystone route, which carries 3 percent of the system’s overall ridership.
The partnership group – which es leaders and residents representing both sides of the run – resulted from public outcries for small ferries between Port Townsend and Keystone instead of original plans for vessels holding up to 144 vehicles.
The state is now designing smaller ferries, delaying ht retirement of the present ferries.
Anderson said state ferries has considered and researched several contingency options, in addition to building new vessels for the Port Townsend-Keystone run.
They are:
“Our goal is to keep working with the Coast Guard . . . and do the best we can,” Anderson said.
