Kodiak looking at three months of no ferry, beginning with Jan. 11 departure of Tustumena for yards

 

 

Overlapping maintenance schedules means Kodiak will be without a ferry for several months starting mid-January.

KMXT’s Maggie Wal has more in this report.

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Kodiak Island is looking at three months of no ferry service beginning Jan. 11. That’s the day the M/V Tustumena is set to leave for its annual yard period.

 

“So the Tustumena is going to be in Ketchikan for its required overhaul. And it’s planned to return to service on May 1 of 2020.”

 

That’s Caitlin Frye with the Alaska Department of Transportation.

The Kennicott is already getting its annual overhaul and not schedule to resume service until April 16.

 

“The reason why the schedules are empty between now and summer is because of the required annual overhauls and some additional extensive work that needs to be done on both the Kennicott and the Tustumena this winter.

 

Frye said another factor in ferry schedules is the cut to the state’s budget.

 

“The $44 million budget has impacted the number of ships that can operate during the winter.’

 

Frye acknowledges the inconvenience of being without a ferry from Jan. 11 to at least April 16.

 

“We’re hoping that this required maintenance and our annual overhaul can get done as scheduled and we’ll get those ships back to you as soon as possible.”

 

On a side note, Frye said that if the ferries return as scheduled, there should be no conflict with the Crab Festival which depends on the Marine Highway to bring in the rides and midway. The annual event is held Memorial Day weekend.

However, shipyard workers often find unexpected problems, especially with the Tustumena, once they get deep down into the guts of the ships. So it’s not unusual for the maintenance period to take longer than originally expected.

 

Editor:  This story was changed to correct math. Three months from mid-January to mid-April.