New ferry back in service after running aground at Keystone

Published 5:36 pm Wednesday, February 16, 2011

COUPEVILLE — The ferry Chetzemoka is back in service after briefly running aground Tuesday evening.

No one was injured as the ferry was apparently blown by high winds onto a sandbar in Keystone Harbor next to the Whidbey Island terminal, ferry system spokeswoman Marta Coursey said.

Winds were blowing about 44 knots from the southeast and the current was running at about 3.3 knots at the time, she said. The ferry became stuck on the sandbar to the west of the dock about 6 p.m.

The boat was off the sandbar by 7:15 p.m., and the passengers were safely unloaded, Coursey said.

Divers inspected the hull late Tuesday and again Wednesday morning and found no damage other than a few small nicks on the vessel’s propeller, Coursey said. U.S. Coast Guard inspectors were on site and cleared the vessel for service, she said.

The Chetzemoka, which began service in November, missed five scheduled sailings between Port Townsend and the Coupeville terminal at Keystone on Tuesday evening. The vessel sailed back to Port Townsend this morning and resumed service.

“Per standard protocol, (the ferry system) is conducting a thorough investigation into this incident,” Coursey said in an e-mail.

Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.