By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Ferry service in Southeast is scheduled to run without major gaps this winter as the M/V Columbia returns to service, the Alaska Marine Highway System announced Tuesday.
During the Columbia’s three-year layup, the smaller Matanuska and Kennecott have run the mainline route between Bellingham, Juneau, Ketchikan, Haines and Sitka.
The return of the Columbia will allow uninterrupted ferry service across the panhandle through the fall and winter, the AMHS said.
The M/V Matanuska arrives at the ferry terminal earlier this month. The state ferry is scheduled for maintenance. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
With the Matanuska and Kennicott both in need of overhaul, the Columbia’s return is well timed, ferry system spokesman Sam Dapcevich told the Sentinel today.
“That’s why we have the Columbia running, because it is done with its overhaul. It’s getting recertified… so that ship would be able to run the whole winter season without interruption,” he said from his Juneau office. “The Matanuska and the Kennicott will go into a longer than usual overhaul, and part of the reason we’re doing that is so that we can borrow crew from those ships to keep the Columbia running.”
As outlined in AMHS’ proposed schedule, the Columbia is to make weekly calls to Sitka.
“It would be pretty similar to what you’re seeing from the Matanuska right now. That would be a weekly circuit,” Dapcevich said.
The winter schedule will be made final after the public comment period that ends August 26.
Though the Columbia is only 10 feet longer than the Matanuska it needs a much larger crew to operate, and that’s part of the reason the Columbia was taken out of service in 2019, Dapcevich said.
With Coast Guard approval the ship will run with a crew of 52 instead of the 60 required in the regulations, Dapcevich said.
While the Columbia was not in service there were recurring gaps in winter ferry service in Southeast.
“The winter of 2018 and ’19, that was the last winter we didn’t have a gap,” Dapcevich said. With the Columbia running again, the mainline Southeast route shouldn’t experience major service gaps this winter, Dapcevich said.
The Columbia is set to re-enter service November 14, when it will replace the Kennicott as the operational mainliner.
As now proposed, the winter ferry schedule shows the LeConte as a day boat to communities in the northern panhandle, though that route doesn’t include Sitka. When the LeConte is out for overhaul in January and February, AMHS hopes to run the northern panhandle route with the Tazlina, if crew can be found.
“This past winter we were able to use it for that gap, so we believe we’re going to be able to this winter and our recruitment efforts are only going up, we’re ramping them up right now,” Dapcevich said.
While Southeast won’t be left out in the cold this winter, ferry service in Prince William Sound will likely see a gap in October and November, and service in Southwest Alaska isn’t planned in January or February.
Overhaul work on the Kennicott will also lead to a gap in cross-gulf service this winter.
Although fuel prices are higher this year, Dapcevich said fares will not be increased.
“No fare increases, I can tell you that with confidence,” he said.
The proposed winter 2022-2023 AMHS schedule is posted at https://dot.alaska.gov/amhs/doc/AMHS_Winter_2022-23_Schedule_Packet.pdf. Comments can be made at https://publicinput.com/G6532; by email at 71585@PublicInput.com; or by fax at 907-228-6873. The public comment period will be open until Friday, August 26.
