Coast Guard makes decision on safety

I’m getting mighty tired of The Herald’s attempts to instill a complete lack of confidence in the subject ferry boats. Just in case The Herald’s people have forgotten, it’s the United States Coast Guard that determines whether a vessel is safe to operate. Not The Herald, not the Washington state ferry system, not the Washington Legislature, but the United States Coast Guard, and if the Guard says the vessels are safe to operate, then the vessels are safe to operate, and no amount of speculation or badgering with the printed word will change that situation.

As to continuing to operate these vessels, that determination is the responsibility of the Washington state ferry system, and if ports such as Keystone require small vessels to (a) keep from running aground; (b) negate the need to spend millions of dollars to rebuild port terminals such as Keystone in order to accomodate larger vessels; (c) are more than adequate to accommodate the traffic volume; and (d) the Coast Guard has determined that the vessels are seaworthy and safe to operate, then The Herald should pipe down, stay out of the picture, and devote its attention to the operation of the daily news, rather than trying to operate the Washington state ferry system by newspaper fiat.

‘Nuff said.

Arch Whisman

Edmonds