PORT TOWNSEND — The timeline for repair of the MV Salish ferry is still unknown so the route between Port Townsend and Coupeville will continue to run with one boat until the end of August at the very least.
The MV Salish will head to Anacortes next week, as soon as a dry dock is available, for repair of propeller bearings and seals damaged by ropes from crab pots dropped too close to the ferry route, according to Ian Sterling, spokesperson for Washington State Ferries.
Underwater footage taken of the Salish after it ran aground Aug. 8 trying to dock at Keystone Harbor on Whidbey Island shows that the damage is extensive and the ferry will need multiple days of repairs, Sterling said.
However, the true extent of the damage won’t be known until the ferry is hauled out of the water.
“If we’re lucky, they won’t find any more damage and it won’t be as bad as we think,” Sterling said.
Only three ferries in the Washington state fleet can handle the route between Port Townsend and Whidbey Island, which is one of the more difficult, Sterling said.
With the Salish out and the MV Chetzemoka running the Vashon Island route, only the MV Kennewick will operate on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route until the Salish is repaired.
The state Department of Transportation sent a robot underwater to check the Kennewick for similar crab pot damage but nothing was found.
“We got lucky with the Kennewick,” Sterling said. “This is the first time we’ve had such a big issue with crab pots.”
The MV Elwha, which runs the inter-island route in the San Juan Island, had similar issues after running over crab pots but the ropes were cut off before they could damage the propeller bearing and seals.
Sterling said the captains of Washington State Ferries do their best to avoid crab pots, but at night there is only so much they can do to avoid the small buoys that mark the pots.
Those setting crab pots are encouraged to note the ferry routes and set pots out of the way of the ferries to avoid losing their gear and potentially damaging vessels.
Due to the reduced capacity, stand-by space is limited on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route and reservation holders are prioritized on each sailing, the state ferry system said.
Stand-by customers may be turned away at the terminals if all staging lanes are filled by reservation holders. Walk on space is available for all departures.
Alternate routes are Edmonds/Kingston and Mukilteo/Clinton.
For more information, see http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/.
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Jefferson County Editor/
