SEATTLE — After running on one ferry for several days, the Seattle-Bremerton route is back to two boats.
Only the Chimacum has been operating since Tuesday after the Salish went out of service for a steering control issue.
The repairs on the Salish have been completed and the boat returned to service with the 10:20 a.m. sailing from Bremerton on Sunday.
The temporary loss of the Salish added to the growing problem of fewer ferries, Ian Sterling with the Washington State Department of Transportation said.
“In a normal year, it takes 19 vessels to maintain summer service. We’re down to 16,” Sterling said last week. “This isn’t Plan A or Plan B. We’re down to Plan C or D. Anything else that goes wrong, all it takes is one stray to get tangled up with a ferry or steering system failure — anything like that will have an impact on service, and it will be felt immediately by the route that it’s on.”
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