More Washington ferry trouble; vessel damaged at Bremerton

The ferry Yakima on the Seattle-to-Bremerton route will be out of service for an undetermined amount of time after the boat ran into a breakwater near the Bremerton dock early this morning, putting three cracks in the hull.

According to ferry spokeswoman Marta Coursey, the Yakima, with 18 vehicles and 62 passengers on board, was blown north of the terminal while trying to dock about 2 a.m.

The boat hit the edge of a new breakwater being built for a new Bremerton marina, causing the cracks.

Coursey said one crack was eight inches long and the other two four inches long. The accident caused water to seep into the hull.

The boat was being towed to the Eagle Harbor maintenance yard on Bainbridge Island this morning for repairs.

Because of the accident, state ferries are shifting boats to try to maintain service to Bremerton. Today it put the passenger-ferry Snohomish on the route; the Snohomish will leave Seattle's Pier 52 at 6:40 p.m. and will keep the remainder of the evening schedule.

Saturday, state ferries will shift the ferry Chelan, a 124-car boat, from the Vashon-Southworth-Fauntleroy route to Seattle-Bremerton.

Coursey could not say how long the Yakima would be out of service, just that the state is not planning on operating it "for some time."

The collision means the Seattle-Bremerton route will be operating with just one boat and backups are expected.

Coursey said there are no replacement boats, but ferry officials are scrambling to put another boat on the route. She said ferries are considering contracting with a private operator to run a passenger-only ferry between the two cities. "All options are being considered," she said.

The Coast Guard and ferry system, which said no one was injured in the accident, are investigating.

The Yakima accident was just the latest in a series of problems plaguing Washington State Ferries.

Six autos were damaged Tuesday when a state ferry ran into rough weather on a San Juan run.

According to Susan Harris, another spokeswoman for state ferries, the ferry Sealth was running between Lopez Island and Anacortes when high winds and waves crashed over the boat, damaging six cars. The windshield of one vehicle was shattered.

On Thursday morning, the Snohomish, a passenger ferry running between Port Townsend and Keystone, was partially flooded by a massive wave.