Ferry crossings resume after package at Kingston terminal was found to be safe

The Edmonds-Kingston ferry crossing should resume around 9:30 am after a “suspicious” package Later found to be harmless caused a shutdown of nearly four hours, according to the Washington State Patrol’s Homeland Security Division.

The package was found near the counters at the Kingston ferry terminal around 5:20 p.m. Wednesday, according to the security division.

The state patrol established a perimeter around the area while the agency’s demining team and K9 units assessed the package, according to the security division. Employees have been informed of the suspicious package.

Holding lanes were evacuated and loading was temporarily suspended while state patrol investigated, according to an alert sent at 6:27 p.m. by the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The demining team took an x-ray of the package but the results were inconclusive, so a bomb technician performed a close examination for officials to determine next steps, the security division said in a message. Twitter posted at 8:27 p.m.

At 9:07 p.m., the division said the package had been cleaned up and found to be safe after technicians determined it was some kind of refrigeration compressor. Authorities will continue to investigate the reasons the package was left in the terminal.