Ferry officials scramble for options on Keystone run

Published 1:24 pm Tuesday, December 11, 2007

SEATTLE — It may be too early to assume that car ferry service will be down for a year between Port Townsend and Whidbey Island because of problems with the state’s oldest ferries.

Washington State Ferries officials are scrambling for options and were expected to meet today with state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond.

Key state lawmakers on Monday made it clear they don’t want to spend more money trying to repair the ailing 80-year-old Steel Electric-class ferries.

That means the state must find options to restore car ferry service to the part of the state that was served by the Steel Electrics — and fast.

Among other things, ferry officials are studying the possibility of moving vessels off other routes and reconnecting Port Townsend with car ferries headed to other terminals, said Marta Coursey, communications director for the ferry system.

“Those are options that are still being considered and they are being discussed on a daily basis,” Coursey said.

The state has juggled routes before in response to a transportation crisis. When part of the the Hood Canal Bridge sank in 1979, the state reconnected the north Olympic Peninsula by adding a car ferry between Edmonds and Port Townsend.

Port Townsend Mayor Mark Welch today said he welcomes the idea of a ferry from Port Townsend to Edmonds.

“It actually gives us better access in terms of the population centers,” Welch said. “Based on previous history, it actually was something of an economic boon. It was very easy to encourage tourism. It was a nice boat ride from a more urban area.”

The Port Townsend terminal is capable of handling larger ferries. The narrow, shallow harbor at Keystone on the Whidbey Island side presents the biggest problem. The Steel Electrics are the only car-carrying vessels in the state fleet that are small and nimble enough to use in that harbor while at the same time being licensed by the Coast Guard for use on the difficult passage across Admiralty Inlet.

On Monday, state leaders talked about stepping up efforts to get new ferries built. Building replacements for the Steel Electrics is expected to take a minimum of a year, most likely longer.

The ferry system is not without options, however.

Pierce County, which operates its own ferry system, has offered to lend the state a vessel that it has in reserve, lawmakers were told Monday. That offer was made when ferry officials still believed they would be able to repair the Steel Electrics and return them to service by February.

Hammond on Monday said she isn’t too keen on the idea.

“I don’t think it’s feasible,” she said.

Hammond on Monday also called the option of sending ferry traffic from Port Townsend to Edmonds a “work around,” and suggested it would take travelers too far out of their way to be useful.

A run from Port Townsend to Clinton would be more direct, but that terminal is too busy to squeeze in an extra vessel, especially in the summer, Hammond said.

Ferry officials on Wednesday plan to talk about their options in Port Townsend. A meeting has been scheduled with the Port Townsend-Keystone Community Partnership meeting on Wednesday.

The meeting is set for 9:30 a.m. in the Pope Marine Building, City Dock, Madison at Water streets, in Port Townsend.

Hammond on Monday said she wanted to meet with community leaders before making her recommendation to Gov. Chris Gregoire regarding the future of the Steel Electrics.

The Steel Electrics have had problems with leaks and cracks for years, but corrosion “pits” found on 1927-vintage riveted steel plate in the hulls prompted Hammond on Nov. 20 to order all four of the aging vessels tied up to undergo meticulous inspection and repairs.

The decision, on the eve of the Thanksgiving traffic rush, forced the ferry system to close down the Keystone-to-Port Townsend run. It has since reopened for passenger-only service.

Repair work has been under way on the Quinault and the Illahee, both now in dry dock in Seattle. That work may now be cut short.

Ferry officials on Friday announced that crews have determined that at least 45 percent of the hull steel on the Quinault has been deemed beyond repair and in need of replacement.