Alaska Marine Highway System

The M/V Tustumena pulls away from Kodiak in January, beginning a ferry service gap of more than three months. (Photo by Kavitha George/KMXT) The public comment period for the summer ferry schedule is now open. According to the Alaska Marine Highway System’s proposed operating plan for this summer, which covers May through September, the Tustumena will make two to four …

A long-awaited report on revamping the state ferry system has been finally made public. It comes from the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry Reshaping Working Group, which sent it to the governor three weeks ago. The Ferry Reshaping Working Group recommends major changes for the Alaska Marine Highway The group has been meeting since February, and its mission was to review …

The reduced winter ferry schedule has left communities like Kodiak, Port Lions, Seldovia and Homer dependent on the Kennicott. But this week, the ship is out of commission. The Alaska Marine Highway System says the Kennicott is in Juneau, where technicians are working to fix a mechanical problem. The ferry was supposed to stop in Kodiak on Thursday and then …

Stormy weather in the Gulf of Alaska cancelled the Tustumena’s departure from Homer on Sunday night. In an online notice, the Alaska Marine Highway System said all ports of call scheduled for Monday, Sept. 7 are cancelled due to weather. Had the Tustumena departed Homer as scheduled at 8:45 Sunday night, it would have arrived in Port Lions and Ouzinkie …

It’ll be a tough winter for a lot of coastal communities that depend on state ferry service. “It’s greatly reduced,” said Amanda Becker, the ferry terminal manager in Kodiak. “There’s no two ways about it.” That’s how Becker sums up the new winter schedule, which was finalized after a brief five-day public comment period. Although the Alaska Marine Highway System …

Today, on KMXT’s Midday News, stay tuned for: A weekly update from Emergency Services Director. Information on the updated ferry schedule. More local essays from Kodiak’s “Culture and Covid-19”. And details on Alaska’s economic recovery lag. All that and more, this Thursday on KMXT.

The Alaska Marine Highway System is at a critical crossroads, as the first round of hearings on restructuring the ferry system gets underway this Wednesday. A nine-member working group is reviewing a $250,000 study commissioned by the Dunleavy administration, one that’s already ruled out privatizing the state ferry fleet, because it doesn’t pencil out. Now they will hear what the …