Ferry Skipper Pleads No Contest

The skipper of a state ferry that ran aground in Rich Passage pleaded no contest Thursday to charges of negligence and misconduct.

U.S. Coast Guard administrative law judge Bernard Silbert suspended Andrew P. “Pete” Williams’ license for one month, retroactive to the accident, and placed him on a year’s probation.

At the hearing, Silbert noted Williams’ outstanding safety record in 23 years with the ferry system prior to the accident.

Williams, a relief skipper and a captain for 16 years, was in charge of the Kitsap when the 328-foot vessel ran aground Sept. 18 in dense fog near Point Glover, three miles east of Bremerton, on the first run of the day to Seattle.