Bainbridge Island commuters saw a ferry shrouded in black smoke during their trip home Monday afternoon, but it wasn’t an emergency.

The soot came from a controlled burn-off of carbon deposits inside a smokestack, aboard the ferry Kaleetan, around 5:35 p.m. while it was docked between passenger trips, said Kurt Workman, spokesperson for Washington State Ferries.

These burn-offs happen periodically, and another was done Monday along the Mukilteo-Clinton route, Workman said.

The Bainbridge terminal is next to WSF’s Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility where boats stay for extended repairs.

See Full Page