Alaska Marine Highway System

May 19, 2021 by Jacob Resneck, CoastAlaska Alaska lawmakers passed a bill to Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Wednesday that boosters say would ensure better long-term planning for the state-run ferry system. The Alaska Marine Highway System has been struggling with deep spending cuts, an aging fleet and declining ridership as it runs fewer ships to coastal communities. But it’s also come under fire for …

by Jacob Resneck, CoastAlaska A ferry reform bill passed the Alaska House of Representatives 37-0 on Wednesday, with no objections from the floor. But Gov. Mike Dunleavy believes the bill violates the separation of powers clause in the Alaska Constitution. House Bill 63 would create an Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board, which would craft short- and long-term planning for Alaska’s ferry …

March 11, 2021 by Jacob Resneck, CoastAlaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed a new bill to boost independent oversight and planning for the Alaska Marine Highway System. In a statement Wednesday, the governor said the legislation would improve the reliability and efficiency of the fleet. “As we continue efforts to restructure and modernize the Alaska Marine Highway System, it is imperative the long-term operations and finances …

February 10, 2021 by Jacob Resneck, CoastAlaska The ferry LeConte docks at Juneau’s Auke Bay terminal. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News) An Alaska ferry in Juneau was evacuated early Wednesday after a man drove aboard the vessel claiming he had a bomb. The LeConte was loading around 6:30 a.m. at the Auke Bay terminal for a round-trip sailing to Pelican. That’s when …

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.