Date:  Thursday, October 29, 2009

Contact: Marta Coursey, Director of Communications, 206-515-3918

OCTOBER 30 UPDATE: Vessel repairs were completed and the Steilacoom II returned to service with the 6:30 a.m. sailing from Port Townsend on Friday, Oct. 30.

OCTOBER 29 NEWS RELEASE:

PORT TOWNSEND – Ferry service on the Port Townsend/Keystone route is cancelled until Friday, October 30. The 50-car Steilacoom II is out of service for necessary repairs. Customers are advised to use the Mukilteo/Clinton and Edmonds/Kingston routes for travel between the Olympic Peninsula and Whidbey Island.

Service was cancelled beginning with the 2:15 p.m. sailing from Port Townsend on Wednesday, October 28. Crews are working to complete the repairs as quickly as possible, and it is hoped that the vessel will be ready to return to service in the early afternoon on Friday, October 30.

WSF is maintaining the Steilacoom II in excellent condition, but passage through Admiralty Inlet is very challenging for this vessel. This emphasizes the need to have a new vessel that is designed to handle the specific characteristics of this route. Todd Pacific Shipyards is more than halfway through the 18-month construction timeline for WSF’s first new 64-car ferry, which is scheduled to begin serving the Port Townsend/Keystone route in late summer 2010.

Updates will be provided as more information is known. To sign up for free e-mail alerts about service disruptions and other route information, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/email_alerts.

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