PORT ANGELES — Clallam County will support Black Ball Ferry Line’s request for federal financial assistance during the coronavirus pandemic, commissioners said.
The three commissioners said Monday they would sign a letter of support to congressional representatives seeking unspecified financial relief for the private company that operates the M/V Coho ferry.
“It’s a wonderful gesture from them to show their support as we look to our federal government for assistance, just like so many other companies,” Black Ball Vice President of Marketing Ryan Malane said.
“It’s wonderful to know that we’ve got the support of our local politicians. That’s huge.”
Clallam County Commissioner Randy Johnson drafted the letter to U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, and U.S. Sens. Patty Murray, D-Seattle, and Maria Cantwell, D-Mountlake Terrace.
“We feel that the locally owned Black Ball Ferry Line is an economically critical service in Clallam County,” the proposed letter states.
“We support federal monetary assistance to help maintain operations. … This is vitally important for our entire region.”
The Coho, which has plied the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca since 1959, stopped its daily sailings between Port Angeles and Victoria, B.C., amid the COVID-19 outbreak March 29.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Saturday a 30-day extension of a closure of the U.S.-Canadian border to nonessential travel through May 20.
Black Ball officials had previously canceled all Coho sailings through May 31.
“We’re waiting to hear, just like everybody else, on when the border is likely to reopen,” Malane said.
The Coho’s 450,000 annual passengers represent about 30 percent of the overnight stays in Clallam County, according to the proposed letter.
A 2019 economic study found that Black Ball Ferry Line employs 91, supports nearly 1,000 indirect jobs and has an annual financial impact of about $60 million to Clallam County, Johnson said.
“This would normally be an unusual request, but these are unusual times,” the draft letter states.
“Black Ball has been in operation for over 60 years without a subsidy.”
Johnson on Monday said he would seek additional signatures from the cities of Port Angeles, Sequim and Forks, Port of Port Angeles, Clallam County Economic Development Council and the North Olympic Peninsula’s legislative delegation.
“I just thought it would give a much better feeling about how important this entity is to all of us in the Clallam County area relative to tourism long-term, as well as an avenue of commerce and everything else,” Johnson said in the Monday session.
“I don’t care about what business you’re in, if you think about suddenly going cold turkey and having no revenue coming in for one month, and now another month, and now maybe another three months — they’re asking for anything that might be possible that would make sense for them that supports continuing of business.”
Commissioners are expected to vote on the letter next Tuesday.
“I really do appreciate the effort that you’ve put into it, Randy, and I support it,” Commissioner Bill Peach said at the work session.
Malane said he could not assign a dollar figure to the impacts of COVID-19 crisis.
“I don’t have any direct numbers,” he said.
“What we have to look at is that 28 percent of our business is commercial and the rest is leisure, and if people aren’t traveling, we lose all that revenue.”
The Coho has logged more than 26 million passenger sailings since the iconic vessel went into service on Dec. 29, 1959, company officials have said.
“We are, much like airlines, going to be seriously impacted by the lack of travelers, and certainly the border closure,” Malane said.
“We are looking to our federal delegation for assistance in helping us find programs that can assist us,” he added.
“That kind of support from the local level really helps.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
