Transportation

This story is by Jacob Resneck with CoastAlaska.org   Alaska Marine Highway System’s mainline service won’t be back up and running until mid-May. The ferries Columbia, Kennicott and Tustumena were scheduled to return to service later this month. A statement by the Department of Transportation Wednesday says the three vessels are on schedule to be overhauled by Vigor Alaska. But …

The Alaska Marine Highway System summer ferry schedule was released last week. Kodiak’s first arrival will be the M/V Kennicott on April 25, arriving from Homer. The M/V Tustumena will make its first trip Kodiak from Homer on May 2. This summer will see somewhat reduced service in some places. According to Department of Transportation and Public Facilities spokesperson Sam …

By Jacob Resneck at CoastAlaska in Juneau A lawmaker says a fact-finding trip on the state of the Alaska Marine Highway System found vessels in poor shape, low crew morale and a lack of leadership. As CoastAlaska’s Jacob Resneck reports, that’s all according to Rep. Louise Stutes who recently visited the ferry’s headquarters in Ketchikan.   Click on arrow below …

Kodiak joined rallies in support of the Alaska Marine Highway System across the state on Tuesday. Though Kodiak’s rally was much smaller than some of the others, community members had plenty to say in support of the ferries. Robyn Cassidy holds a sign in support of the Alaska Marine Highway System outside the M/V Tustumena dock on Tuesday, Feb. 11, …

Kodiak will join nine other coastal Alaska cities at noon Alaska time on Tuesday in a rally for the Alaska Marine Highway System. Events are scheduled from Dutch Harbor to Ketchikan to bring attention to AMHS’ series of struggles over the last few months and year that have resulted in every ferry out of service, with the exception of the …

Governor Mike Dunleavy today established a new work group to make recommendations on funding and service levels for the Alaska Marine Highway System. Most of the members will be from specific groups, but three seats are for the general public who represent “areas of broad statewide public interest.” KMXT received the following press release from the governor’s office. We have …

Kodiak Island’s last ferry of the season pulled away from the dock on Saturday, and there won’t be one returning until April. Aging vessels in need of repairs and cuts to the Alaska Marine Highway System budget have extended the service gap this year, making life for village residents more difficult in the meantime. M/V Tustumena crew finish last preparations …

On Saturday afternoon the ferry Tustumena is scheduled to pull away from the dock in the channel and not return until May 1. The Alaska Marine Highway vessel will be getting its annual mandated overhaul at a shipyard in Ketchikan. Since the other ferry that services the island, the Kennicott, is already in the yards for its mandatory work, that …

Representative Louise Stutes responded forcefully to a statement last week from Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner John MacKinnon, about ferry service being a “convenience.” The M/V Aurora normally services Prince William Sound, including the communities of Cordova, Valdez and Tatitlek. (Photo by Christoph Strässler/Wikimedia Commons) “To say that the loss of our ferry service is a convenience is …

Like many parts of coastal Alaska, Kodiak Island is gearing up for a gap in ferry service this winter. While the city of Kodiak has relatively reliable alternatives for transportation to the mainland, the gap will pose serious difficulties for the some of the island’s outlying villages. The M/V Tustumena docked in Kodiak. It’s the smaller of two ferries that …