Washington State Ferries (WSF) is dealing with lingering disruptions Tuesday after 23 engine-room employees called in sick Monday, leaving 13 of the system’s 18 vessels out of service and stranding thousands of passengers across Puget Sound.
The state said qualified employees who could have filled the vacant positions declined to report for duty. The resulting crew shortage forced cancellations and reduced service on several major routes Monday.
Service is closer to normal Tuesday, but problems remain.
The Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route is operating with two boats instead of three because the Kitsap remains out of service due to a crew shortage. WSF also canceled the 4:45 a.m. sailing from Bainbridge Island and the 5:30 a.m. sailing from Seattle because of a lack of qualified crew.
For the Mukilteo-Clinton route, the 5:05 and 6 a.m. sailings from Clinton and the 5:35 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. sailings from Mukilteo were canceled. Regular service was expected to resume after those cancellations.
And for the Edmonds-Kingston routes, the 5:30 and 7 a.m. sailings from Kingston and the 6:15 a.m. and 7:55 a.m. sailings from Edmonds were canceled. Regular service is expected to resume after those cancellations.
WSF said it expects more normal service across the system Tuesday but warns customers to check for route-specific changes because schedules remain subject to crew and vessel availability.
