Sale of former Washington state ferry set to close Tuesday, Olympia port says
The sale of a former Washington state ferry docked at the Port of Olympia — a 310-foot ship that was auctioned off Nov. 17 to a Vancouver, Washington man — was set to close by the close of business Tuesday, the port’s executive director announced.
Sam Gibboney said Monday during the port commissioner meeting that the U.S. Marshals Service, which took the vessel into custody and organized last week’s auction, was set to transfer ownership and title by the close of business on Tuesday, Nov. 24.
The winning bid during the auction was $290,000 by Bart Lematta. Opening bids started at $50,000.
Gibboney said the port has set a timeline for the new owner, wanting to see the ferry moved within the next two weeks. The new owner will be working with marine terminal director Len Faucher on that move, she said.
During public comment, resident Richard Wolf asked how the $290,000 bid will be dispersed.
Commissioner Joe Downing said he expects the port to receive some money for unpaid moorage owed to the port by the previous owner of the ferry. Beyond that, things are still in flux, he said.
“We’re pretty overjoyed we found a buyer for the ferry,” he said. “We hope he puts it to good use and we’re happy to have some cost recovery included in that.”
The ferry has been docked at the port for more than two years. The previous owner of the ferry stopped paying his bills to the port this year, which resulted in the port suing the owner in U.S. District Court. That was followed by a judgment in favor of the port and the auction.
Lematta outbid Kingston, Washington resident Noah Israel for the ferry.
This story was originally published November 24, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
