PORT TOWNSEND — An Anacortes company has been hired to provide passenger-only ferry service between Port Townsend and Keystone Harbor during January when the car ferry Steilacoom II goes in for annual inspection and maintenance.
Mystic Sea Charters was chosen over Port Townsend’s P.S. Express and Port Angeles-based Victoria Express, said Hadley Greene, Washington State Ferries spokeswoman.
“It was based on vessel capability as well as the charter price,” said Greene, explaining why Mystic Sea was chosen over the two others in the running.
The Mystic Sea Charters proposal was considered “most advantageous,” she said.
The 100-foot MV Mystic Sea, which seats about 70, will provide the service at a daily rate of $5,290, which includes the cost of a crew, Greene said.
Service begins Jan. 5, with the same number trips normally operated by the Steilacoom II, but the schedule has been shifted some to accommodate public transit service on both sides of the route.
Passenger fares will remain the same price, at $2.60 each way.
Vehicle holding lanes at both terminals will serve as park-and-ride lots for passengers.
The Pierce County-owned Steilacoom II ferry, which the state leased in February, is expected to be taken out of service on Jan. 4 for inspection and maintenance required by the Coast Guard. The work will be done at Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle.
The Steilacoom II is the only vehicle ferry that will work for Keystone Harbor’s challenging conditions.
The car ferry temporarily replaces the more than 80-year-old Steel Electric ferries that were declared unsafe and pulled from the Port Townsend-Keystone route on Nov. 20, 2007.
Ferry construction
A 64-car ferry is in the process of being designed and constructed in the next 18 months by Todd Pacific Shipyards of Seattle.
Greene said Mystic Sea Charters will provide nine round trips a day, the same as the Steilacoom II, but the schedule will be adjusted to match transit connections on the Port Townsend and Whidbey Island sides of Admiralty Inlet.
State ferries will install barges in the vessel slips at both the Port Townsend and Keystone terminals to allow the passenger vessel to land safely and to make it easier for passengers to load and unload.
The barges meet Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility standards and provide direct access to the Port Townsend and Keystone terminals.
Beginning Jan. 5, the Port Townsend/Keystone passenger-only sailing schedule will be:
Leaving Port Townsend at 6:20 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10:15 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 2:15 p.m., 3:50 p.m., 5:20 p.m., 7 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. The boat will leave Keystone at 7:10 a.m., 9:10 a.m., 11:10 a.m., 1:10 p.m., 3:10 p.m., 4:35 p.m., 6:10 p.m., 7:45 p.m., and 9:15 p.m.
Wave2Go multiride cards will also be accepted.
For information on transit connections, phone Island Transit at 360-321-6688, ext. 3, or toll free at 800-240-8747 or Jefferson Transit at 800-371-0497.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
