Ferry Puyallup pulled from service for emergency repairs

Published 5:19 pm Wednesday, July 15, 2015

The 202-vehicle ferry M/V Puyallup will be out of service for three days while crews inspect an engine that broke down Saturday, June 20, Washington State Ferries announced Wednesday.

WSF is advising travelers on the Bainbridge run to plan for possible delays and reduced ferry capacity on half of all sailings between the island and Seattle.

With the ferry M/V Elwha out of service for four months for extensive emergency repairs to a drive motor, the loss of the vessels has prompted WSF to call back-up ferries into service.

The 188-car M/V Walla Walla will temporarily fill in for the Puyallup on the Bainbridge Island-Seattle route between Monday, July 20 and Wednesday, July 22.

Service on the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth routes will shift from a three-boat schedule to a two-boat schedule, with supplementary service provided by the 34-car M/V Hiyu.

WSF also said the Kingston-Edmonds route will expand from a two-boat schedule to a three-boat schedule.

“Adding two new Olympic Class vessels in the last year and a half allows us to call on our older ferries when we need them,” said Assistant Secretary for Ferries Lynne Griffith. “Thanks to state lawmakers, we’ve got a third vessel under construction and plans for a fourth are in motion. In the meantime, the fleet is stretched thin.”

In order to maintain service across the entire system, WSF will adjust the sailing schedule and assign the back-up vessels Evergreen State, Tillikum and Hiyu to two routes; Kingston-Edmonds and Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth.