The Seattle-Bremerton ferry route is down to one boat after the Walla Walla was taken out of service because of a damaged propeller, according to Washington State Ferries.
Officials discovered Thursday that a blade on the boat’s 57-year-old propeller had sheared off, Washington State Ferries said Friday on Facebook.
The Walla Walla will be dry-docked while it undergoes repairs, which are expected to take a few weeks, Washington State Ferries said. One ferry will serve the route until further notice, according to the post.
“We are working hard on a long-term service plan for the Seattle/Bremerton route, and we will provide updates as we get them,” according to the post. “We know that this is a large disruption that affects many people. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate everyone’s patience while we resolve the issue.”
This weekend's setback comes six months after the agency increased trips and cut wait times on the Seattle-Bremerton route with two ferries: the Walla Walla and the Issaquah.
The two boats were expected to boost ferry service to prepandemic levels, make 16 round trips a day and slash wait times by an hour, ferry officials said last year.
The Port Townsend-Coupeville route went out of service Saturday afternoon for the rest of the day because of a crew shortage. Reservation holders were told they would not be charged a fee for the sailings and that alternate routes were Edmonds-Kingston or Mukilteo-Clinton.
Ferry service between Fauntleroy, Vashon and Southworth remains on a two-boat schedule with the Kittitas out of service until at least next week. Crews discovered damage to an oil seal in the vessel's engine room on Friday, Washington State Ferries reported.
Information from The Seattle Times archives was included in this report. Seattle Times reporter Paige Cornwell contributed to this story.
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