Coast Guard Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Service News

An unidentified vessel operator forced five large commercial vessels to take evasive action in Puget Sound near Port Townsend, Wash., Thursday morning. At approximately 4:30 a.m., an intermittent radar contact was reported to the Coast Guard Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Service (Seattle Traffic) by a tug operator and several Puget Sound Pilots transiting the area near Marrowstone Point, Wash. The unknown vessel operator impeded a procession of north and southbound commercial traffic in low visibility with no radio communications. Two southbound vessels, a large container ship followed by a laden tanker under escort, were forced to depart their charted traffic lane toward oncoming commercial traffic.