More than 400 passengers were stranded in the Puget Sound after a Washington state ferry left Seattle and then lost power on Tuesday. The vessel eventually was towed to a dock.
The Associated Press reported Washington State Ferries spokeswoman Marta Coursey as saying the ferry Tacoma was traveling from Seattle to Bainbridge Island with 405 passengers and 138 cars on board when it lost propulsion shortly before 1 p.m.
The Tacoma dropped anchor in the water to await help and was eventually towed to Bainbridge Island. Another ferry that was on the Bremerton-to-Seattle run, the Sealth, had been rerouted to be on standby status next to the Tacoma.
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The Tacoma docked at about 3 p.m. It would be towed to a repair dock so engineers could try to determine why it lost power, ferry officials said.
A passenger, Van Badzik, told the AP that passengers first noticed lights flickering on and off for several minutes, then the vessel lost power and started drifting.
"We were starting to near the destination when we noticed something was wrong," he said.
Badzik said the captain kept passengers informed and the crew acted professionally.
"For the most part, it's been a calm and collected operation," he said. "People seem to be enjoying a different and unique experience for all of us longtime ferry riders."
The passengers who were delayed would receive vouchers good for one trip on the ferry system.
Washington State Ferries operates the largest ferry fleet in the United States, carrying about 23 million passengers annually. More than 6 million riders travel between Seattle and Bainbridge Island each year. The Tacoma, one of the largest vessels in the fleet, is 460 feet long and can carry up to 2,500 passengers and 202 vehicles.
The ferries are part of Washington's state highway system, linking Seattle and other populous cities to the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas as well as the San Juan Islands.
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