Kalakala sold for $1 to person who will return ferry 'to her full glory'

The historic, deteriorating Kalakala ferry has been sold.

Former owner Steve Rodrigues reported on his website that he sold the art deco-style vessel for $1 to an anonymous donor.

“The Kalakala will be saved from the scrap yard and restored to her full glory,” he posted Sunday.

No other details about the buyer or plans for the beleaguered vessel were posted. Rodrigues did not return a call Monday for comment.

The sale was the latest twist in the ferryboat’s long saga.

The Kalakala was first launched in 1935. In its heyday, it carried 100 million passengers between Seattle and Bremerton. It was retired in the 1960s and became a fish processing ship in Alaska.

The vessel has been moored in Tacoma’s Hylebos waterway for seven years.

Since buying it in 2003 for $135,560, Rodrigues has proposed a series of plans to make the ship an attraction, but none of the ideas went far.

In May, for example, he asked the Port of Bellingham if he could tow the ferry there to be stored while he found a replacement hull. Those plans never came through.

Rodrigues announced the Kalakala was for sale for $1 earlier this month.

“We are seeking a qualified and motivated investor or buyer as alternatives to assure the full restoration of an incredible maritime historic ship with global social and cultural significances,” the website posting said. “Salvage companies not welcome!”

In Sunday’s posting, Rodrigues said he had two offers and accepted the bid of an anonymous donor.

Rodrigues had lost his lease and had until Jan. 1 to move the vessel. It was unclear Monday where the new owner would move the vessel, but Rodrigues told The Seattle Times the star-crossed ferry might wind up in New York.

Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268
stacey.mulick@thenewstribune.com
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