The cost of keeping the idled state ferry Malaspina at the dock in Ketchikan is nearly twice as much as reported to the public and state lawmakers. That's according to internal emails obtained by CoastAlaska under state public records law.

The nearly 60-year-old Malaspina, one of the marine highway's original three sister ships, hasn't carried passengers in almost two years.

It's costing the state almost $900,000 a year to insure and maintain the unused ship.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration has not wanted to invest in the overhaul of the ferry's original engines, and estimates of fixing th...