The Tokitae, Washington’s newest ferry, briefly lost power as it approached Mukilteo on Wednesday.

According to reports, 173 people were aboard when the 144-car vessel lost power and drifted away from the terminal and shore. No injuries were reported.

One passenger said the ordeal was nothing more than an extended trip on the boat. Given the warm, sunny weather, he was unfazed by the experience.

“They made a very clear statement that there was nothing wrong,” said Stephen Barrett, director of National and Regional Sales for Sound Publishing, which owns The South Whidbey Record.

“It was a beautiful day, so it wasn’t that big of a deal,” he added.

Having caught the 5 p.m. sailing, Barrett said he had returned to his car when the ferry approached the Mukilteo terminal, only to have it lose power and start to move away from shore.

“We got, I kid you not, we got within spitting distance, a couple hundred yards of the dock, and suddenly we started floating backwards,” he said. “It was a little unusual.”

“None of us could figure out what was going on,” he added.

Built with a dual propulsion system, the vessel was able to dock in Mukilteo and unload after 6:30 p.m., before returning to the extra slip at the Clinton Ferry Terminal for further assessment.

It returned to service for an early morning sailing April 16.

Losing the larger ferry left the route with just the Kittitas, a 124-vehicle, Issaquah-class ferry during the rest of the day, April 15.