By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Though crew shortages continue to affect operations of the Alaska Marine Highway, the state plans to provide some ferry service to Southeast communities this summer using the mainliners M/V Columbia and M/V Kennicott.
The comment period for the proposed summer schedule is open through Thursday.
Sitka will have weekly southbound service by the Columbia, according to the state ferry schedule that was released for review earlier this month, and once a month, the Kennicott will call in Sitka on a northbound run to Juneau.
The unequal division of north- and south-bound service will mean Sitkans taking the ferry will need to spend a week or more away from home on trips to Juneau, or take the plane for one leg of the trip.
The Columbia is set to return to active service next month, years after it was laid up in Ketchikan to save the cost of operation.
The proposed summer schedule attempts to stretch the ferry system’s limited resources to provide service in Southeast, Department of Transportation spokesman Sam Dapcevich told the Sentinel.
The once-a-week northbound sailing schedule “may affect ridership out of Sitka, but I’d be speculating on that.” Dapcevich said. “We would certainly like to offer more service. Because there’s the two mainliner ships running through Southeast – the Kennicott and the Columbia… (the schedule is) pretty limited. This is how we were able to make it work with the resources we have available.”
Communities like Ketchikan and Juneau that are located on the Inside Passage will receive more frequent service through the summer, though villages such as Kake and Angoon will see relatively few ferries.
Budget cuts and staffing shortages have curtailed Alaska Marine Highway service in recent years. And now, funding aside, the difficulty in hiring crew is causing problems.
“A big part of the shortage for us is with the passenger services side of things, which is pursers, stewards, cooks and so on,” Dapcevich said. “But all of those positions play a part in operating the vessel and they’re needed for safety purposes and all that. So we can’t say, ‘Oh, we’re down a couple of stewards. And we’re just going to run anyway.’ We need a full crew on board to operate a ship.”
If the necessary staffing is found, the AMHS intends to run the new M/V Hubbard in Lynn Canal this summer, which would free up the Le Conte for additional sailings to villages around the region. If it turns out that the LeConte will be available, Dapcevich hopes to be able to announce the new sailings to northern panhandle communities a month and a half in advance “because we’d like people to also have time to book those sailings.”
The summer schedule, when adopted, will be in effect from May through September. More information and detailed schedules are available at https://dot.alaska.gov/amhs/doc/service_notices/2023_summer_considerations.pdf. Interested people can submit comments by fax to 907-228-6873, or by email to RESTORE@PublicInput.com.
Though the timeframe for written comments closes Thursday, DOT will host a public Zoom meeting on the proposed summer schedule Friday at 10 a.m., giving Alaskans another opportunity to testify.
