By Pepper Fisher

PORT ANGELES – Clallam County commissioners Monday approved a grant of $4,950,000 to the Black Ball Ferry in Port Angeles to help get them through until business gets back to normal.

The Private Marine Transport Grant was made available through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, emergency funds enacted during the coronavirus pandemic.

The fact that the US has opened its border to foreign travelers who are vaccinated means that Black Ball’s Coho Ferry was able to resume service to Victoria, BC this month for the first time in a year and a half. But travel so far is primarily one way, with Canadians coming south.

American travelers are still bound by Canada’s restrictive molecular PCR test requirement and most are staying home until that’s lifted.

Until that day comes, Black Ball Ferry’s Ryan Malane says this grant makes all the difference in staying afloat.

“It absolutely makes the difference, and we were anticipating it. And we very much thank our local and state and federal delegations for all their support. Without that support we wouldn’t be operating.”

Winter has always been Black Ball’s slow season anyway, with business picking up in spring and summer. But there are no guarantees the Canadian government will relax their restrictions any time soon, and Malane says the company has spent well over $5 million, the entirety of their reserves, in fact, to stay in business.

Malane says these funds should get them through the winter and hopes things get back to normal in time for spring.

“We have been fortunate, you know, to receive the support we have from the community. And I think if I had one thing to say, it would simply be, ‘Thank you’. And that’s both to the community and also to our employees for hanging in there and being willing to come back and rejoin our family again. It’s nice to have the family together.”