PORT TOWNSEND – A passenger ferry to Keystone on Whidbey Island could be running as early as today, but may not make its first voyage from Port Townsend until Monday, said Marta Coursey, Washington State Ferries communication director.
As of Saturday night, state ferries system officials couldn’t say exactly when the 350-seat MV Snohomish would begin shuttling passengers between Port Townsend and Whidbey Island.
“We’re still working around the clock to try to get it up and running,” Coursey said.
A construction crew worked Saturday to modify the Port Townsend ferry terminal to accommodate moorage of the Snohomish, which is smaller than the 60-vehicle aging Steel Electrics, all of which were pulled from service on Tuesday.
A revised schedule will be posted on the state ferries system Web site, http:/www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries – which on Saturday night said that service was discontinued until Monday – and alerts will be e-mailed to those who have signed up to receive them.
Paula Hammond, secretary of the state Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the Coast Guard, pulled all four 80-year-old Steel Electric ferries from service because of pitting and rust discovered in the hull of the Quinault.
The hulls of the Klickitat, Illahee and Nisqually will also be examined.
The Snohomish passenger ferry will replace the vehicle ferry on the Port Townsend-Keystone route – operating on the same schedule as the vehicular ferries did – until the ferries are either repaired or replaced by January at the earliest, state officials said.
The passenger ferry was expected to take over the route on Friday, officials said originally, but on Thursday, they changed the date to Monday. On Saturday, the possibility was raised that a Sunday run might happen.
The timing of the loss of the route during the post-Thanksgiving shopping weekend dismayed business owners and public officials.
A meeting among state legislators, state ferries system officials and state and local officials is scheduled for Monday.
The meeting – originally scheduled to be a technical discussion with architects, Coursey said – was expanded when state legislators said they intended to attend.
It will be from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the State Ferries office, 2901 Third Ave., Seattle.
Expected at the meeting are state Rep. Lynn Kessler, who represents the 24th District, which includes Jefferson and Clallam counties; Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee; Rep. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor; and Rep. Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, chairwoman of the House Transportation Committee.
