(402) stories found containing 'Alaska Marine Highway System'
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If not more ferries, at least more information
The Alaska Department of Transportation works hard to serve the public that uses the state’s airports and roads, but it is running at half-speed with public information about the ferry system. Management needs to steer itself toward a more open chann...
Malaspina leaves behind a lot of stories in the wake of its retirement
The recent news that the longtime Alaska Marine Highway System ferry Malaspina will be officially retired and will remain in Ketchikan's Ward Cove as a privately owned and operated museum and a...
Malaspina will have new life as museum, employee housing and classroom
After 56 years of service in the Alaska Marine Highway System fleet and almost three years tied up at a Ketchikan dock, unused and in need of costly repairs, the Malaspina is headed to another career...
Legislature succeeds at protecting ferry system, scholarship funds
There were multiple positive outcomes for our ferry system this past legislative session, including a bill protecting Alaska Marine Highway System funds, the restart of the Prince Rupert route, and more ferries sailing. House Bill 322, which I had...
Columbia's return nowhere on the horizon
The largest of the state ferries, the 499-passenger Columbia, was still listed as inactive on the Transportation Department website as of Monday, with no indication it will go back to work this summer as was planned nine months ago. Last August, the...
COVID cases on the rise; Alaska fourth-highest rate in nation
Just as other communities, Wrangell is enduring a springtime bloom of COVID-19 cases. As of April 20, the state health department reported 79 new cases in the community in the past 30 days. Most of those were reported to the state in late March and...
Representative reports accomplishments in House budget
The State House finished its work April 9 on the operating budget, which has been passed to the Senate for further work and debate. While there is still work to be done, this year’s budget has the potential for some great investments for the needs of...
Kennicott delayed out of shipyard; parts part of the problem
Global supply chain shortages and delays have extended past grocery stores, car dealers and electronics to the Alaska Marine Highway System. The state ferry Kennicott was delayed coming out of winter overhaul. Instead of returning to service last wee...
Extra ferry sailing will pick up waitlist travelers in Bellingham
With more than 260 would-be ferry passengers stuck on a waitlist for travel out of Bellingham, Washington, and sailings full until late July, the Alaska Marine Highway System has scheduled an extra...
State ferry system silent on summer plans for Columbia
The Alaska Marine Highway System has been hoping since last August to bring back the Columbia to service this year after an almost three-year absence, but with the start of the summer schedule only weeks away the state has not announced a decision...
Legislators scale back governor's heavy reliance on federal money for ferries
The House Finance Committee has rejected the governor’s proposal to rely almost entirely on federal funds to operate the Alaska Marine Highway System next year, with the Senate Finance Committee moving in the same direction. The committees differ o...
Columbia's return to service in doubt for lack of crew
A state Department of Transportation official told legislators that the ferry system is “burning out our crew” with lots of overtime amid staff shortages, and that the problem jeopardizes tentative plans to bring back the Columbia to service in South...
State ferry system would operate better as its own corporation
I was pleased to learn that the Legislature finally has a bill, Senate Bill 170, to transfer the Alaska Marine Highway System from the Department of Transportation to a separate state-owned corporation similar to the structure of the Alaska...
Winning plan for Malaspina would operate it as maritime museum
The state has started negotiations to sell the Malaspina to a company owned by a business that operates a new multimillion-dollar cruise ship terminal at Ward Cove in Ketchikan. M/V Malaspina LLC and the Alaska Department of Transportation “have a...
State ferry system will return to Prince Rupert in June
After a 30-month absence due to a new federal requirement for armed customs agents and the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown of Canadian waters, the Alaska Marine Highway System is scheduled to resume limited service this summer to Prince Rupert, British...
State misses the boat keeping proposals secret
There really isn’t a strong reason for the state to keep the proposals confidential until it closes a deal to sell — or give away — the state ferry Malaspina. The Department of Transportation promised exactly that when it advertised for offers on th...
Ferry system still short of hiring target for summer schedule
State ferry system and Transportation Department officials plan to gather this week in Ketchikan to consider options for fulfilling the advertised summer schedule amid a continuing shortage of onboard crew. The department failed to meet its self-impo...
Public testimony on state budget set for Thursday
The Legislature’s main duty every year is passage of the state budget. Last week, the House made considerable progress by finishing up budget subcommittee work. Budget subcommittees meet frequently with each department to navigate potential budget c...
Changing ferry system to a state corporation a long voyage
A 45-page bill to restructure the Alaska Marine Highway System as a state-owned corporation, run by an appointed board of directors, similar to the Alaska Railroad, is going to take longer than one legislative session to review, amend and adopt — i...
State asks if anyone wants to buy the Malaspina
The Alaska Department of Transportation is asking anyone interested in taking ownership of the nearly 60-year-old Malaspina to speak up by March 7. The state has been spending about $75,000 a month to keep the unused ferry moored and insured at Ward...
House speaker questions ferry system's hiring expectations
State Transportation Department officials last week told legislators the ferry system needed to quickly hire at least 166 new crew in order to meet minimum staffing levels for this summer’s schedule starting in May. “Staffing goals for the summer sea...
Lack of crew could keep Columbia tied to the dock
Unless the Alaska Marine Highway System can recruit enough workers by March 1 to restaff the unused Columbia, officials said the largest vessel in the fleet would remain tied to the dock for a third summer in a row. “Management is doing everything w...
Ferry system may reconsider charging more when ships are fuller
State ferry management said they are working to be more responsive to community and passenger concerns, including reconsidering the use of “dynamic pricing,” where fares increase as ships fill up on popular sailings. No one likes dynamic pri...
State 'hopeful' ferry service will return to Rupert on May 1
An Alaska state ferry hasn’t stopped in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, since fall 2019, but officials “remain hopeful” they can add back the Canadian port to Southeast Alaska runs on May 1. “The Alaska Marine Highway System continues to work cl...
Election-year kindness helps the ferry system
It sure seems the Alaska Marine Highway System is feeling a lot more love these days. Could it be a fundamental shift in the governor’s attitude toward the coastal communities that depend on the admittedly heavily state-subsidized ferries (same as R...
