As the Kalakala was returning to Seattle from Bremerton, she came in too fast and couldn't reverse in time. Crewmembers alerted passengers, and got the occupants in the first two cars out of harm's way. No one was injured, but the two cars suffered damage and a large gash was carved into the vessel's steel housing.
Not New For Long
The new $3 million dollar terminal, and headquarters for the state fleet, had only been in operation for a few days. When the Kalakala plowed into the south slip, two concrete towers set on eight steel H-beam pilings cracked and bent. A cross structure of a moveable bridge, used to compensate for tidal changes, was torn loose. The ferry glanced inward into the apron and bridge, causing the gash in her superstructure.
Damage to the ferry looked worse than it was. Although the apron crunched the port side of the mouth of the ferry, it was repaired overnight without removing the Kalakala from service. Total cost of repairs to the vessel was about $2,000.
The $80,000 repair to the slip took two months to complete. In the meantime, the north slip and the auxiliary slip handled all ferry traffic into and out of Seattle.
