BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — Officials say the chief engineer of the Washington state ferry Wenatchee died yesterday while on the Seattle to Bainbridge route. That’s the same ferry that struck a humpback whale the day before.
Ferries spokesman Dana Warr says Sean Wall, who had been with State Ferries for nearly 35 years, died after experiencing a health emergency while on watch at about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The Wenatchee missed several mid-day sailings and held at Bainbridge Island while crews responded to the emergency.
Warr says the crew and first responders were unable to revive the engineer and that his cause of death wasn’t immediately known.
As for the whale that was struck Tuesday: first reports were that it was a gray whale, but NOAA officials used photos taken by witnesses and later identified it as a humpback whale.
The Coast Guard said Wednesday it did not plan to actively search for the whale because it was hit in a high traffic area and could be spotted by another ship if it’s visible.