Site Logo

With 1 Seattle ferry down, Edmonds-Kingston route could be affected

Published 1:18 pm Tuesday, September 19, 2023

By Andrea Brown

A group of travelers aboard the MV Suquamish watch from the sun deck as MV Tokitae passes starboard side on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, in the waters near Clinton, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
1/3
A group of travelers aboard the MV Suquamish watch from the sun deck as MV Tokitae passes starboard side on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, in the waters near Clinton, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
A group of travelers aboard the MV Suquamish watch from the sun deck as MV Tokitae passes starboard side on Sept. 7, 2023, in the waters near Clinton, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
A group of travelers aboard the MV Suquamish watch from the sun deck as MV Tokitae passes starboard side on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, in the waters near Clinton, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

MUKILTEO — The state ferry system faces shaky waters with a vessel expected to be out of service for up to four weeks for repairs.

The ferry Walla Walla on the Seattle-Bremerton route was dry docked Friday for propeller problems. The ferry holds 188 cars.

But Washington State Ferries spokesperson Ian Sterling said ferry travel on the Mukilteo-Clinton route is “unlikely to be affected.”

“Edmonds ‘may’ be as the boat shuffle continues,” he said by email. “I don’t anticipate one-boat service on either route barring any more issues.”

The Mukilteo-Clinton route had one-boat service for most of the weekend and also early Monday, with crew shortages cited as the reason.

At one point Saturday, there was a four-hour wait in Clinton. Getting there wasn’t much better, with waits of several hours on the Mukilteo side.

On Wednesday and Thursday last week, the Edmonds-Kingston route had one-boat sailings for two days due to a generator issue with the ferry Spokane, resulting in waits of over three hours and delays. The Spokane returned to the water Friday and two-boat service was restored.

Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterbrown.

You Might Like