— from George Capacci, Interim Assistant Secretary WSDOT/Ferries Division —
This has been a challenging week for Washington State Ferries and the customers we serve. On Tuesday, July 29 the Tacoma lost power while entering Eagle Harbor near Bainbridge Island. Captain Ty Anderson and crew dropped anchor and immediately stabilized the vessel. The Sealth was quickly diverted from the Seattle/Bremerton route to assist until tug boats arrived. The 405 passengers and 138 vehicles onboard were safely unloaded at the Bainbridge Island terminal. I commend Captain Anderson and the entire crew of the Tacoma for remaining calm and professional in this difficult situation. I also want to thank Captain Steve Erland and his crew on the Sealth for their prompt response to assist the Tacoma.
The Tacoma was moved to Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility. While we’re still in the early phases of investigation, we are looking at the switchboard that controls the ship’s propulsion. I expect to receive a repair plan next week.
I want to thank the passengers onboard the Tacoma for their patience and to all of the customers who were affected by subsequent ferry delays. I am pleased to report that repairs to the Wenatchee are complete and regular service on the Edmonds/Kingston route resumed this morning. The Chelan is headed north and we expect to reinstate service on the Anacortes/Sidney route tomorrow.
We appreciate your patience and apologize for the disruption and inconvenience caused by this unprecedented situation. Our customers rely on safe and reliable ferry service and we are working diligently to maintain service across the system.
Thank you, George…keep up the conversation with us. It helps. We’re all on the same side, but it’s sometimes easy to blame the other guy for an inconvenience.
Blah, blah, blah…, yada, yada, yada… Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You DISCONTINUE service on the international route (Anacortes>Friday Harbor>Sydney) for 2 days at the height of the season, with the collateral impact on travellers and tourism, so that people in the Seattle metro region aren’t inconvenienced by an hour or so wait (for equipment failure) that is the norm for the San Juan Islands routes? What a sense of entitlement the urban area holds for a supposedly state-wide transportation system.