Point Defiance-Tahlequah ferry closed through Tuesday morning

Emergency dock repairs will continue to keep the Point Defiance-Tahlequah ferry terminal closed through Tuesday morning, the Washington state Department of Transportation announced Monday.

The ferry, which connects Vashon Island to Tacoma, has been out of service since Saturday night, when a ferry captain had a medical emergency.

WSDOT says people looking to travel to or from Vashon Island can instead use the Southworth and Fauntleroy ferry terminals.

On Saturday night, the captain of the Chetzemoka became ill as the ferry was preparing to leave the Point Defiance ferry terminal, causing the boat to pull away from the dock and damaging its apron, Washington State Ferries spokesman Ian Sterling told The News Tribune after the incident.

Crew members stopped the boat and used the ferry’s automatic defibrillator to assist the captain until medics could board, Sterling said.

Sterling said Sunday that the captain is expected to be OK after the “major medical issue,” but could not say what happened due to medical privacy laws.

Washington State Ferries needs to bring in additional equipment to complete the repairs Tuesday, he added.

Up-to-date information about the ferry can be found on Twitter at @wsferries or through free email alerts from the State Ferries website, wsdot.wa.gov/ferries.

This story was originally published December 26, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Point Defiance-Tahlequah ferry closed through Tuesday morning."