A formal investigation into what caused a state ferry to run aground near Bainbridge Island April 15 is underway, while Bremerton residents could be putting up with another temporary downsize in the ferry route.
The Walla Walla was put out of service while traveling from Bremerton to Seattle, running off course and hitting the ground in Rich Passage around 4:30 p.m. The route was temporarily shut down by both Washington State Ferries and Kitsap Transit Fast Ferries as the agencies cooperated to evacuate the ferry’s 596 passengers and 15 crew members.
Ian Sterling, WSF director of communications, said KT’s ships were used for the evacuation, saying, “Their boats happen to line up perfectly with the Walla Walla and that led to the decision to get customers off the Walla as soon as possible as it was safe to do so.”
John Clauson, KT executive director, said his agency used the boats from its Bremerton/Seattle and Bremerton/Port Orchard routes for the evacuation. And work was also being done to transport passengers on land.
“I think that the expectation was that, with the service being down on the Bremerton route, that there would be a number of folks that would use the Bainbridge Island (route) as an alternative,” he said. “So we dispatched a number of buses up to Bainbridge Island to connect with their arriving ferries to be able to transport people from there down to Bremerton.”
The last of the passengers were evacuated shortly after 10 p.m. It was the most ideal response to an unideal situation, Sterling said. “We’re proud of the way our crews responded to the emergency situation,” he said, adding that WSF’s training with the Coast Guard, KT and state patrol paid off.
The ferry was towed into Bremerton the morning of April 16, and vehicles on the boat were made available for pickup. Assessments began shortly after. Divers have not found any serious damage so far, but Sterling said, “I can confirm that a mechanical failure likely led to the incident.”
Meanwhile, Puget Sound commuters may need to adjust how they travel for the next several days as WSF enacts route changes. The agency reported April 16 the Issaquah would replace the Walla Walla on the Seattle/Bremerton route until further notice. The Issaquah is a significant downsize for the route as it holds a maximum of 1,200 passengers compared with the Walla Walla’s 2,000. Drivers could also be inconvenienced by the replacement ferry as it holds just 124 vehicles compared to 188.
The new vessel could lead some commuters to take the Bainbridge ferry or drive to Seattle, as the number of round-trips in the already reduced one-boat Bremerton/Seattle schedule is at just eight per day.
