WSF is a ferry down until repairs are completed

Published 12:25 pm Monday, August 31, 2009

A hard landing Sunday morning has left the Wenatchee ferry and Colman Dock’s No. 3 slip damaged.

Islander Gary Pettersen was on the Wenatchee when it hit the dock. He said there was a substantial amount of fog at the time, which might have contributed to the accident.

“I heard a large crunching sound and felt the whole boat shake,” Pettersen said. “Then all of a sudden (the captan) threw the engines in reverse and we pulled back from the dock.”

Several minutes later Pettersen said there was an announcement asking if there was a doctor onboard the vessel. Later reports confirmed that a woman onboard sustained mild injuries.

The impact damaged the ferry and dock to the degree that Washington State Ferries officials estimate the repairs will take at least until the end of the week to put both the dock and vessel back in working order. WSF is currently conducting an investigation into the crash and won’t release details until the report is complete.

Until repairs are done, the Puyallup has been moved to the Bainbridge-Seattle run to restore normal service. The smaller Hyak moved to the Edmonds-Kingston run and the Bremerton-Seattle run is being served by a single WSF boat, which means riders in Kingston and Bremerton should expect delays for the rest of the week.

To ease the strain put on the Bremerton run, WSF has contracted with the Victoria Express to provide foot-ferry service until the Wenatchee can be repaired. The foot ferries will be leaving Bremerton at 5 p.m., 5:40 p.m., 7:15 p.m. and 7:55 p.m.; leaving Seattle at 6:20 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 9:05 p.m.