The Edmonds-Kingston ferry run resumed around 9:30 p.m. after a “suspicious” package later deemed harmless caused a halt for nearly four hours, according to the Washington State Patrol’s Homeland Security Division.
The package was found near the ticket booths at the Kingston ferry terminal around 5:20 p.m. Wednesday, according to the security division.
The State Patrol set up a perimeter around the area as the agency’s bomb squad and K9 units assessed the package, according to the security division. Employees were notified about the suspicious package.
The holding lanes were evacuated and loading was temporarily suspended while the state patrol investigated, according to an alert sent out at 6:27 p.m. from the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The bomb squad took an X-ray of the package, but the results were inconclusive, so a bomb technician carried out a close-up examination, the security division said in a Twitter post made at 8:27 p.m.
At 9:07 p.m., the division said the package wasdeemed safe after technicians determined it was some sort of refrigeration compressor. Officials will continue to investigate why the package was left in the terminal.