Date:  Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Contact: Susan Harris, WSDOT/WSF Customer Information Manager, 206-515-3460

SEATTLE - Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Ferries Division reports that as of 7:30 a.m. this morning, Feb. 13, the Hyak is out of service due to problems with the drive motor. The 144-auto/2,500-passenger Hyak was operating as the second vessel on the Seattle/Bremerton route and experienced the problem on the 6:20 a.m. departure from Bremerton. 

The Hyak was making its first trip after returning to service earlier this morning from scheduled maintenance.  The vessel made it into Colman Dock to offload passengers, and will be towed to Eagle Harbor for repairs. The Hyak is out of service until repairs are completed.

The Ferries Division will continue operating the Victoria Express passenger-only vessels and the Snohomish passenger-only vessel to supplement service provided by the 124-car Kitsap, which is operating on the normal #1 boat schedule.  This schedule will resume immediately.

Service options on the Seattle/Bremerton route include:

�         124-car Kitsap, which is operating on the normal #1 boat schedule.

�         149-passenger ferry Snohomish operating on the normal #2 boat schedule, departing from the Bremerton Ferry Terminal and Washington State Ferries' Pier 50 passenger dock (adjacent to Colman Dock) in Seattle.  Crossing time is approximately 45 minutes.

�         Two 149-passenger ferries leased from Victoria Express will depart from Kitsap Transit's dock in Bremerton (adjacent to the Bremerton Ferry Terminal) and the Pier 50 passenger dock in Seattle.  These ferries will supplement service provided by Kitsap and the Snohomish, and will depart either before or after the Snohomish to carry extra passengers.  Crossing time for the Victoria Express ferries is approximately 60 minutes. 

Complete schedule information is available online at: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/.

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No Ordinary Journey

Created on June 1, 1951, Washington State Ferries (WSF) is the largest ferry system in the United States and the largest ferry system in the world based on vehicles carried. More than 24 million people a year ride the ferries and over 30,000 vehicles a day use this critical link in the state highway system. WSF has a fleet of 28 vessels and operates 20 terminals throughout Puget Sound.

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