2 Wash. fast ferries sold for $4 million

Washington state has finally sold two fast ferries that were taken out of service by legislators in Olympia after they were embroiled in a lawsuit.

A California transportation authority has agreed to buy the Chinook and Snohomish, Washington State Ferries' two fastest passenger ferries, for $4 million. The district plans to put them into service on San Francisco Bay.

The vessels cost $19.6 to build. State Transportation Department officials had hoped to get $9 million for them.

The deal comes after months of attempts by Washington state officials to sell the vessels, including two unsuccessful tries on eBay.

The two catamaran-hull ferries were built in Anacortes in 1998 and 1999 and placed on the Seattle-Bremerton run, where they cruised at speeds of close to 45 mph.

They were shut down after beach landowners sued, saying there was damage from the vessels' wakes. After the state settled the case, legislators ordered the state ferry system out of the foot-ferry business because of the high cost of the service.

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Information from: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, http://www.seattle-pi.com/