Each ferry option has problems, too

State officials are mulling a range of options for restoring car-ferry service to Port Townsend, but each one poses problems. Here's a sampling of options discussed at Wednesday's meeting:

• Temporary repair of one or more Steel Electrics. Problem: Even a temporary repair would cost millions that state officials think should be spent for new boats. And there is no assurance the Coast Guard would permit the repaired boats to operate.

• Passenger ferry between Seattle and Port Townsend. Problem: It does not help the shoppers from Vancouver, B.C., and Bellingham who use the route from Keystone on Whidbey Island to Port Townsend.

• Direct car ferry to Port Townsend from Edmonds or Clinton. Problem: Even using a large, faster ferry, the run would take up to two hours each way, deemed too long for most travelers.

• Bring the small ferry Evergreen State down from the San Juan Islands: Problem: The interisland routes also are stretched thin from shutting down the Steel Electrics. And the deeper-draft Evergreen State would be able to get into the Keystone terminal only at high tide.

• A tug and barge on the Port Townsend-Whidbey route. Problem: State officials say it would take two tugs to negotiate the narrow Keystone terminal. And rules prohibit barges from carrying passengers.

• Buy or lease car ferries from British Columbia or another country. Problem: The federal Jones Act prohibits using overseas-built boats on domestic routes. A temporary exemption from that law is feasible, but state officials have not identified any suitable boats that would be available.

• Lease a small ferry from Pierce County. Problem: That possibility is being studied, but the Pierce County ferry would have to be modified and equipped to operate in the heavier seas off Port Townsend. Pierce County has said it would be willing to loan the boat Steilacoom II for a test run, but it needs that vessel in its service.

• Use privately operated boats: Problem: There are no private car ferries available, and passenger boats address only part of Port Townsend's problem.