Travelers stranded on Anderson Island after mechanical issues suspends ferry trips
STEILACOOM, Wash. - Ferry service remains suspended between Anderson Island and the Steilacoom Ferry Terminal after mechanical issues on the ferries, leaving many stranded on the wrong end of Puget Sound.
As soon as the only ferries for Anderson Island were out of service, Captain Corey Feldon immediately volunteered to help.
"I did it yesterday from like 6 o’clock until midnight, and today’s going to be from 6 o’clock in the morning probably till midnight," said Feldon.
The Christine Anderson Ferry and the Steilacoom 2 are both currently down and not running due to mechanical issues.
"Yesterday around 2 o’clock, crews recognized that there was low compression in our generator on the Steilacoom 2 ferry," said Pierce County Public Works spokesperson Erin Babbo.
Babbo said ferry service was suspended not long after, which left passengers like Cindy Akana stuck at the ferry terminal.
"It probably took me about 10 minutes to kind of calm down," said Akana "It’s 5:30 and I have to figure out what to do for the evening—I have pets at home on the island, so I’m calling my pet care person hoping she’s stuck on the island instead of off."
The ferry interruption had Jeremy Kamel concerned for his kids.
"[I'm] going to have a hard time getting to school, there’s not a lot of internet service on this island," said Kamel, noting there is also just one small general store on the island. "They're not made to be able to supply the whole island for food, you know, 24 hours a day for a week straight, so at some point if this continues then people will start running low on their food."
Some Anderson island residents like Cheryl Babo were more accepting of the situation.
"It was a choice to live out on the island and for us it’s well worth the, you know, once in a while having a little chaos." said Babo.
Meanwhile, Cpt. Feldon will continue to volunteer his time to transport people on his boat.
"As long as the ferry is not working and there’s no viable way for the islanders to get back and forth, I’m out here," said Feldon.
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Pierce County Public Works hopes to have the ferry service restored as soon as Wednesday, March 1. The agency says passengers on the Anderson island side needing shelter should go to the Anderson Island fire station.