Washington State Ferries says the outage hasn’t affected overall schedules, but the vessel has been docked at Eagle Harbor near Bainbridge Island for several days. The problem began Friday when two of the Wenatchee’s four drive motors unexpectedly shut down at Seattle’s Colman Dock. Although the motors restarted and the ferry was able to reach maintenance, crews are still diagnosing the issue.
Officials say unstable communication wiring in the control system is the likely cause, but the problem has been difficult to reproduce. Spokesperson Dana Warr called the setback a normal part of the post-conversion testing phase. Until repairs are complete, the Walla Walla and Tacoma will continue serving the Seattle-Bainbridge route.
The Wenatchee is the first ferry in the fleet to undergo hybrid conversion—a process delayed by design mismatches and cost overruns.
