WSDOT Ferries Division announced that ferry service will resume on the Point Defiance/Tahlequah route starting with the first scheduled sailing on Thursday, March 6. The 34-car Hiyu will provide service on the route until the route’s regular vessel, the 48-car Rhododendron, is ready to return to service later this week.
The Hiyu has been in the shipyard for maintenance and repair since December and is scheduled to begin service on the San Juan Islands inter-island route on Monday, March 10. Shipyard workers were able to finish work on the Hiyu a few days early so the vessel could fill in for the Rhododendron on the Point Defiance/Tahlequah route before moving up to the San Juan Islands this weekend.
On Saturday, March 1 the Rhododendron developed a mechanical problem and was removed from the Point Defiance/Tahlequah route for repairs. The 87-car Evergreen State provided service on Saturday night and Sunday, but there has been no service on the route from Monday through Wednesday, March 3-5.