By Rolf Boone

The Olympian

A lawsuit filed in federal district court against the owner of a former Washington state ferry has resulted in the court-ordered “arrest” of the vessel, the Port of Olympia announced Wednesday.

The ferry has been docked at the port’s marine terminal for more than two years after the original plan called for it to be there for only a couple of months. The agreement to dock at the port was extended, but the owner wasn’t always timely in paying dockage fees. The port says it hasn’t been paid since January and is now owed $67,000.

Although Jones Global Investment LLC is the current owner of the ferry, a business called Jones Broadcasting LLC purchased it from the state in 2017 for $300,000. The 310-foot ferry previously operated under the name “Evergreen State.”

The port was set to seize the ferry in June, but then worked with the owner to try to sell it, port spokeswoman Jennie Foglia-Jones said. When that didn’t work out, the port filed suit.

A U.S. Marshal served an arrest warrant this week and a representative of the court-appointed caretaker of the vessel — a business called Marine Lender Services LLC — also has checked out the ferry, Foglia-Jones said.

“We were hopeful that the owner would find a buyer and we would work with him on that,” she said, adding that now the port’s focus is to recoup the money it’s owed.

The next likely step for the ferry is a court-ordered sale of the vessel, she said.

What was the original plan for the ferry? That was never entirely clear.

Washington State Ferries said at the time of the sale in 2017 that the new owner planned to use the old ferry for ferry service in the “protected waters of the southern Caribbean.”

A Port of Olympia records request shows another destination was Panama, The Olympian reported. There were other ideas, such as using the ferry as an event center with fine dining and vendor booths in Pensacola, Florida, according to the port.

An attempt to sell the ferry on eBay also was unsuccessful.