10/09/2006: "Hyak Replaced By Smaller Sealth For 4 Months"

The 90-car MV Sealth has replaced the 144-car MV Hyak on the Anacortes/San Juan Islands route. The Hyak will replace the 144-Yakima, which will go into the yard for much needed maintenance as the vessel has been operating on half power due to a generator problem. The Sealth returns to this route after a four month, $4 million preservation project done by the Everett Shipyard.

To help alleviate possible overloads on the 8:25 p.m. sailing from Anacortes, the last sailing of the night, Washington State Ferries is changing the Anacortes/San Juan Island/Inter-island schedule slightly from Sunday, October 8-Thursday, October 12.

The 6:35 p.m. inter-island sailing from Shaw will terminate at Lopez Island and the 7:05 p.m. inter-island sailing from Lopez Island to Friday Harbor will be cancelled so that the 59-car MV Illahee can sail to Anacortes to provide an 8 p.m. sailing from Anacortes direct to Friday Harbor, arriving at approximately 9:30 p.m.

"We will monitor the overloads to see if we need to provide this service beyond this week," says Tim Saffle, Operations Center Port Captain. "We are trying to ensure that our customers can get home during this vessel transition."