Two of the four Steel Electric ferries sold for scrap will pass by Port Townsend on their final voyage at about 9 tonight, a state ferries system spokeswoman said today.
The Nisqually and Quinault Steel Electric ferries — two of the four boats that served the Port Townsend-Keystone route for much of 80 years — will be towed from the Washington State Ferries Eagle Harbor facility on Bainbridge Island to Elliott Bay at about 7 p.m. to be rigged for an ocean tow, and will pass Port Townsend about two hours later, said Marta Coursey in a written statement.
The two ferries, both built in 1927, will be towed through Puget Sound and Admiralty Inlet into the Strait of Juan de Fuca as they head toward the Pacific Ocean on a non-stop trip to Ensenada, Mexico, where they will be recycled.
The ships are expected to pass by Port Angeles at about midnight, Coursey said.
The remaining two Steel Electric ferries, the Klickitat and Illahee, will be towed to Mexico in one to two weeks, she added.
The ferries started serving the region in the mid-1970s. They were pulled from service in 2007.
In June, the state ferries system sold all four Steel Electric ferries to Eco Planet Recycling, Inc. of Chula Vista, Calif., for $200,000.
Eagle Harbor and towing company crews have spent the past two weeks preparing the vessels for towing by building breakwaters, adding ballast and rigging tow cables, Coursey said.
The ferries will be towed by Fred Dahl Tug and Barge, and Island Tug and Barge.
No one will be aboard the vessels as they are towed, the Coast Guard said.
A new 64-car ferry is expected to be completed in June 2010 for sea trials.
