UPDATE | Ferry Tacoma brought back to Seattle terminal

Published 5:08 pm Friday, May 8, 2015

The ferry MV Tacoma was guided by tugboats back to the Colman Dock at the Seattle terminal for repairs just after it departed for Bainbridge Island, witnesses said, shortly before 5 p.m. Friday.

The vessel was leaving Seattle for the 4:40 p.m. sailing to Bainbridge.

The ferry has had a troubled history over the past year.

The Tacoma, a Jumbo Mark II Class ferry built in 1997, was taken out of service last summer after it went dead in the water during an afternoon sailing on July 29 to Bainbridge Island.

WSF said the power failure last summer was due to a design flaw that prevented a protective circuit-breaker device from working as it should. A voltage surge fried two fuses after a breaker was opened for the ferry’s Generator 4, and damage to the vessel’s electrical switchboard components ultimately led to the power failure.

The ship was returned to service in April after repairs at the Eagle Harbor shipyard.

Friday’s problems with the Tacoma has resulted in the cancellation of the 4:40 p.m. and 6:20 p.m. sailings from Seattle and the 5:30 p.m. and 7:10 p.m. sailings from Bainbridge Island.