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FERRIES: WSF’s Walla Walla runs aground on Seattle-Bremerton run

April 15, 2023 6:17 pm
|      24 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | Transportation | West Seattle news

(Photo tweeted by U.S. Coast Guard)

6:17 PM: We’re mentioning this because (a) west-facing West Seattleites might see emergency vessel/helicopter traffic as a result, and (b) the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry route might get busier because of it: A Washington State Ferries boat has run aground while traveling from Bremerton to Seattle. U.S. Coast Guard vessels are at the scene where M/V Walla Walla is grounded in Rich Passage along the south side of Bainbridge Island near West Blakely [vicinity map]. It happened around 4:30 pm, WSF says, adding that initial indications are that “generator failure” was a factor. The Seattle-Bremerton run is out of service until further notice because of the mishap, as Walla Walla (50 years old) was the only boat on the run. No injuries reported, per the Coast Guard.

6:39 PM: The state Ecology Department says neither hull damage nor pollution has been detected so far. … One of the passengers stuck aboard tweeted that they’re “waiting to abandon ship but not clear how yet.”

7:50 PM: As noted in comments, Kitsap Transit has two of its foot ferries standing by to help get the passengers off the Walla Walla.

8:29 PM: And the Coast Guard says that’s happening right now:

(Photo tweeted by U.S. Coast Guard)

10:46 PM: The Coast Guard says the passenger evacuation is wrapping up and: “The rising tide will assist during the slated removal of the vessel from the shoal water. Peak high tide is at 3:23 am.”

ADDED SUNDAY: The boat indeed was refloated on the early-morning high tide and moved to Bremerton, where people were able to go retrieve their vehicles later in the morning. The Bremerton-Seattle run is being handled today by M/V Issaquah so the Walla Walla could be evaluated.

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24 Replies to "FERRIES: WSF's Walla Walla runs aground on Seattle-Bremerton run"

  • CarDriver April 15, 2023 (6:24 pm)

    Video i saw showed they weren’t moving that fast.  Possibly no damage. However, if divers find any damage or there’s vibration which would mean prop damage that means getting dry docked putting it out of service for a while.  As closest ferry to Bremerton is Fauntleroy/Southworth look for increased traffic to/from Fauntleroy.

  • Kalo April 15, 2023 (6:49 pm)

    Any idea what’s going on with the water taxi? Haven’t noticed any vessel activity since 3pm.

  • Earlybird April 15, 2023 (6:58 pm)

    Of all the nights to go to Bremerton for dinner…The Kitsap Fast Ferry has also cancelled service as the boats are being used to evacuate passengers from the Walla Walla.

    • Ferns April 16, 2023 (12:44 am)

      Yeah, bummer about everyone’s weekend plans. I was already in Lynwood near the incident getting dinner and worried when I saw a dozen emergency vehicles nearby, helicopter and little parking. Nothing seem to be happening. Unlike the stranded ferry passengers I got in and out with my takeaway despite the commotion. Locals were out watching the spectacle and clued me in. Pretty epic but happily no serious injury or damage. Wish I could have stayed to see the emergency slides used. Only saw a photo of them sitting deployed. 

  • MKL April 15, 2023 (7:17 pm)

    VesselFinder.com shows two Kitsap foot ferries hovering nearby. They might just be there as backup or they might be planning to transfer passengers to the Commander and the Waterman. The commander can hold 250 people and the Waterman 150. Looks like high tide isn’t until 3:19am, so depending on how much tide lift they need to pull the ferry off it could be a while before people will be able to pick up their cars. 

  • Sh April 15, 2023 (10:33 pm)

    Oh my, that seems like something that shouldn’t have happened. Low tide, run aground, i mean you’d think that was one of the number one rules taught at ferry captain school. Maybe the same Ferry driver as the one that hit the Fauntleroy pylons. No, that wouldn’t make sense so it’s another Captain, hmm. Anyone see the movie Idiocracy…starting to wonder, lol.

    • bill April 15, 2023 (11:11 pm)

      This post and other media report loss of power. I prefer to think the captain acted wisely, using the ship’s remaining momentum to ground the ferry in a favorable spot: on a beach that would make evacuating the passengers and crew relatively easy and safe in case the ferry began to sink. Hopefully the bottom there is soft and did not do much damage to the ferry. Allowing the ferry to drift with the current would be very dangerous. There are plenty of rocks in the Sound that could sink a ferry.

      • WS Res April 16, 2023 (8:24 am)

        But that would require taking a generous view of a public employee as a trained professional sometimes subject to the same kind of bad luck and entropy as everyone else!  Surely that’s not allowed.

    • Amy April 16, 2023 (7:30 am)

      It was a mechanical failure, not a caption failure.

    • Ty April 16, 2023 (7:32 am)

      We usually only wonder when someone fancies themselves an expert without reading the article ;)

    • WestSeattleBadTakes April 17, 2023 (11:15 am)

      This comment is the true exemplification of Idiocracy. The sad thing? They’ll likely never understand why.

  • 1994 April 15, 2023 (11:42 pm)

    What a mess! What will the passengers do without their cars late at night to get home? Then they will have to retrieve their car at some point….what a mess! But at least the weather was calm and plenty of help arrived.

  • D-Mom April 16, 2023 (6:55 am)

    Fascinating story!  Thanks for including it. Here are some photos. https://www.kitsapsun.com/picture-gallery/news/2023/04/16/photos-walla-walla-runs-aground-rich-passage/11677162002/?fbclid=IwAR18nFMh81odvEY4nW2nxJRKdaOog_e2Bpqbrt5sNSPG1DUwC9iGDpFUOtg&mibextid=Zxz2cZ How many times have we all gotten on ferries and not even thought about what would happen if we needed a rescue?  Curious how they would keep people out of the water or rescue very quickly if a ferry goes down.  You will not survive in that water got very long without a dry suit. 

    • Ariel Hansen April 17, 2023 (8:23 pm)

      They do have lifeboats, though I don’t know how many passengers they could get to safety at once. 

  • Christopher B. April 16, 2023 (9:06 am)

    I’m dating myself in saying this, but Washington State ferries these days have turned into an E ticket ride.

  • Admiral April 16, 2023 (10:17 am)

    1994 – the passengers will have one heck of a story to tell! 

    Regarding getting home I would expect that Taxi/Uber charge’s would be reimbursed by the WSDOT.

    • Lucy April 16, 2023 (10:48 am)

      Reimbursement?  Why?  I got stuck in the University District after a Husky football game and the light rail broke down.  Cost 80 bucks to get back to Beacon hill. No one offered to pay me back for the failure of public transport.  Or how many times metro breaks down or cancels runs?  Are they going to pay for everyone to get a ride? 

  • Deb April 16, 2023 (12:00 pm)

    Wondering if the high tide at 3am helped free the WallaWalla?thanks!!

    • WSB April 16, 2023 (1:33 pm)

      yes, I should add that for anyone who hasn’t seen regional media coverage. boat refloated on high tide, now moored at Bremerton, where drivers were able to go get their cars this morning.

  • Ariel Hansen April 17, 2023 (8:21 pm)

    Our ferries are so old they deserve new names. Top is the one that ran aground on Bainbridge last week. Bottom is the one that hit the Fauntleroy pilings last year. I’ve “rechristened” them both. ;)

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