By David Moseley, Assistant Dept. of Transportation Secretary for Washington State Ferries
Last Friday [Oct. 7], the 144-car Yakima was removed from service for repairs after maintenance crews discovered signs of abnormal wear on the journal bearing, which supports the propulsion shaft. The current plan is to repair the damaged bearings as soon as possible.
On Tuesday [Oct. 11], we discovered that our backup vessel, the 34-car Hiyu, needed a repair to its fire pump shaft.
In the meantime, the 64-car Chetzemoka had finished its peak season service at the Port Townsend/Coupeville route. The Chetzemoka’s scheduled shipyard period was delayed and the vessel was temporarily assigned to serve as the inter-island vessel in the San Juan Islands.
I want to thank our customers for their patience as we make these adjustments. I also want to recognize Dakota Creek Industries for quickly amending the Chetzemoka shipyard schedule to allow the ferry to serve the San Juan Islands this week.
WSF staff are working exceptionally hard to get these vessels back into service and to mitigate service impacts.
