PORT TOWNSEND — A community party Thursday, June 30, will celebrate the return of two-boat service on the Port-Townsend-Coupeville route sometime in July.
The public celebration, planned at 11 a.m. in slip No. 2 at the Port Townsend terminal, will welcome the newly constructed, 64-vehicle MV Salish, which Washington State Ferries hopes to have in service in time for the Fourth of July weekend.
A vessel open house is planned from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Salish is the sister ferry to the MV Chetzemoka, which began serving the route in November.
“I’m really excited about this,” said Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, the chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee, who fought to keep the Salish on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route when the state ferries system suggested it could be moved to another route to cut costs.
“I promised my constituents that we would get them the boat, although it was a little harder than we expected,” Haugen said.
When the Salish begins service on the Port Townsend-Coupeville run, it will be the first time the route has been serviced by two boats since the long-running Steel Electrics were taken out of service in 2007.
Double tourists
Haugen said the Salish’s presence could double the amount of tourists.
“It will mean a lot to people on both sides of the route and make it more convenient,” she said.
“People know that if they miss one boat that another will be along shortly,” she said.
Currently, sailings are 90 minutes apart. With two boats, that time will be cut in half.
Haugen expects to attend the community ceremony.
Also scheduled to appear are House Transportation Chairwoman Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island; state Department of Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond; and David Moseley, assistant Transportation secretary, who is in charge of the state ferries system.
The Port Gamble S’Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam and the Lower Elwha Klallam tribes will present a welcoming ceremony with speeches, singing, dancing and drumming.
“We are excited that the tribes will be part of the celebration so we can honor their heritage,” said Christina Pivarnik, Port Townsend marketing director.
In the past week, the Salish has become increasingly visible in Port Townsend as it conducts the final phase of the sea trials and crew training needed before its anticipated inaugural voyage.
Salish seen in PT
The Salish is the second of three Kwa-di Tabil Class boats contracted by the state at a cost of $213.2 million and built by Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle.
The first was the Chetzemoka. The third, the Kennewick, is destined for the Point Defiance-to-Tahlequah route once it enters service sometime in the winter.
After Hammond pulled the Steel Electric ferries from service, the route was serviced by the Steilacoom II, which was leased from Pierce County until the Chetzemoka began operation in November.
The Salish and the Chetzemoka will operate in tandem, and both will dock in Port Townsend at the end of each day, said Marta Coursey, state ferries system spokeswoman.
Both ferries will operate on the route until Sept. 25, at which time one of the boats will be used to cover routes throughout the system as boats are taken in for servicing, the state ferries system said.
Two-boat service on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route will resume in the spring.
For more information about the state’s new ferries, visit http://tinyurl.com/27fxjkd.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
