Oscar B. arrives, but service delayed

The determination of when ferry service will resume is a day by day, hour by hour determination.

Five US Coast Guard personnel spent three hours inspecting the new ferry, the Oscar B., on Tuesday.

"The good news is that vessel Oscar B. passed inspection, and in other respects is good to go," reported Wahkiakum County Public Works Director Pete Ringen.

However, the Oscar B. is not yet cleared for carriage of passengers, Ringen said, because of issues with the Westport, Ore., ramp.

"The Coast Guard is requiring an inspection of the operation of the temporary moorage and passage at Westport prior to authorizing us to carry passengers," Ringen said.

"As of approximately 1:15 this afternoon, the contractor for the Westport work was not on site with materials to make those changes needed," Ringen said. "However it is my understanding a plan of action has been developed and those changes should be occurring soon.

"The Coast Guard indicated it may be difficult to re-schedule them for the follow-up inspection needed," Ringen added.

The Oscar B. arrived at the Puget Island landing Friday afternoon. The county had publicized that it wouldn't go into operation until it passed a Coast Guard inspection, then scheduled for Monday.

However, during training runs Friday, there was a problem with a throttle, and at one point, a seal for shaft brake actuator failed. This disabled one engine, and the ferry crew had to limp back to the landing.

"Our ferry has a unique part for its shaft brake, and the seal for this shaft brake actuator failed," Ringen said. "This had to be repaired by the shipyard over the weekend, which delayed training runs for the crew as planned."

Meanwhile, the old ferry, the Wahkiakum, went out of service Thursday afternoon, so the contractor could rearrange pilings at the Island landing.

"The Wahkiakum made its last scheduled run at 1 p.m. on February 26," said Puget Island resident Paul Vik. "I was aboard as a passenger. Upon its return to Puget Island, it loaded vehicles belonging to the landing contractor. That crossing was not open to the public, so let's say it doesn't count. There may have been a crossing after this but not that I know of."

The Wahkiakum spent Thursday night at Westport, and on Friday, the ferry crew took it to Astoria where it will be moored until the county decides its fate.