Updated: Edmonds/Kingston ferry run now back to two-boat service

Update at 1:55 p.m.: Here’s another update from our online news partner The Seattle Times: Regular, two-ferry service on the Edmonds-Kingston route was to resume with the 12:50 p.m. Kingston departure. The two boats serving the route — the Walla Walla and the Spokane — were both tied in their slips in Kingston early Monday when the crew discovered the spill, said Marta Coursey, spokeswoman for Washington State Ferries.

“It was a small fuel spill but we took appropriate precautions and put a boom around the Walla Walla to absorb the fuel,” Coursey said. Because both boats were tied up near each other, “we did not want to put the Spokane into service, to make sure the engine did not disturb the (oil) sheen in any way,” she added.

The Coast Guard received a report on the spill at about 4:30 a.m., Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class Katelyn Shearer told The Times. The spill apparently happened as workers were transferring fuel in between tanks on the Walla Walla, Shearer said. “There was some kind of equipment failure that caused a spill of approximately 15 to 20 gallons of diesel on the deck of the ferry itself,” Shearer said. “We estimate less than 10 gallons actually went into the water.”

Updated at 9:55 a.m.: The Washington State Ferries reports that one-boat service between Kingston and Edmonds will begin with the 10:25 a.m. Kingston sailing and an 11:10 a.m. Edmonds sailing. The entire Edmonds/Kingston route was out of service earlier this morning due to a fuel leak on the ferry Walla Walla, which is docked in Kingston.

 

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