Wave knocks out Snohomish again

The passenger ferry serving the Port Townsend/Keystone route was pulled from service Thursday morning after sustaining damage from another wave.

At approximately 9:15 a.m., the Snohomish was making its scheduled voyage from Port Townsend when it was struck by a wave, which blew water over the vessel’s bow. The frigid saltwater blew in two doors on the starboard side of the Snohomish and soaked some of the seats, said Marta Coursey, communications director for Washington State Ferries.

“The damage was considered minor, but for the passengers it can be frightening,” Coursey said.

At the time of the incident, the Snohomish was traveling in an area with four-to-six foot swells and 11-knot winds.

There were nine passengers and five crewmen on the Snohomish during the voyage, but nobody was injured.

The Snohomish was taken to Eagle Harbor for repairs and it was back in service Friday morning.

To make sure the passengers weren’t stranded, the ferry system arranged transportation to Edmonds, where they could take the ferry to the peninsula and then eventually be driven back to Port Townsend.

Thursday’s incident took place in approximately the same area where a wave damaged the Snohomish Feb. 1. That wave prompted officials to pull the passenger ferry from service for the remainder of the evening.

The Snohomish is one of the passenger vessels tapped by Washington State Ferries to fill the void left by the loss of the Steel Electric vessels, which were pulled from service in November.

Friday was scheduled to be last day the Snohomish would serve the Port Townsend/Keystone route. The vehicle ferry Steilacoom II made it through its training and it is scheduled to start serving the ferry route today, Feb. 9.

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