Travelers hoping to catch the ferry from Keystone on Whidbey Island to Port Townsend this afternoon are being detoured as the The Steilacoom II is out of service until workers can repair the vessel.

At approximately 12:30 p.m., workers noticed a burned out bearing in the vessel’s alternator, which prompted officials to pull the vessel from service while it was at the terminal in Port Townsend.

Hadley Greene, spokesperson for Washington State Ferries, said the ferry will return to service with the 3:45 p.m. departure from Port Townsend. She added that the parts are being sent up to Port Townsend so that ship personnel can make repairs.

The Steilacoom II is the only ferry that serves the route. It’s scheduled to go into drydock Jan. 4 for inspection and maintenance mandated by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Port Townsend/Keystone route will be served by passenger-only ferry service for approximately three weeks during the scheduled maintenance.

In the meantime, motorists are being diverted today to the Edmonds/Kingston run to make their way to and from the Olympic Peninsula. That detour can take as long as four hours.

Folks with a multi-ride pass can show up at the Keystone ferry terminal to pick up a voucher that can be used system-wide, Greene said.

The Monday afternoon breakdown wasn’t the only problem affecting the route. Sailings were delayed by 20 minutes earlier in the day because of fog, and riders have experienced delays in recent days due to high winds and tidal conditions.