The 202-vehicle Wenatchee will be out of service for three days starting Sunday, Oct. 19, through the end of the service day on Tuesday, Oct. 21, for its mandatory annual U.S. Coast Guard safety inspection.

Temporary vessel re-assignments should not affect walk-on passengers, however customers planning to drive onto the Seattle-Bremerton, Edmonds-Kingston or Seattle-Bainbridge Island ferry could experience delays.

Officials say the Coast Guard safety inspection is necessary to ensure the ongoing safety of WSF passengers and crew.

“Our goal is to make the most of our available fleet by using the best size vessels available to meet the demand while the Wenatchee is out of service,” said Broch Bender, a WSF spokesman.

Here is a look at plans for the Seattle-Bremerton route during the three-day inspection period:

• The 90-vehicle, 1,200-passenger Sealth  and 144-vehicle, 2,000-passenger Hyak will be utilized. That means there will be 34 fewer vehicles on half of scheduled sailings.

• On Monday, Oct. 20, and Tuesday, Oct. 21, the heaviest vehicle traffic is expected during the early morning and early evening commute. Drive-on customers should plan for delays at the terminal.

• Drive-on customers are encouraged to allow plenty of extra time to arrive at the terminal.

• Downsizing will not affect walk-on capacity.

In addition, the Sealth may remain on the Bremerton-Seattle route until Mon., Oct. 27, to cover for the Kaleetan, which is out for repairs to its propulsion generator. The Kaleetan has been out of service since Oct. 3. Issues with the propulsion generator were discovered during a planned maintenance period at our Eagle Harbor facility.