As the Alaska Marine Highway System moves around its limited fleet of operational vessels, Wrangell and the other communities served by the Southeast mainline route will see a gap in service from April 15 to May 3.

The Kennicott, which has been serving Southeast this winter, is being pulled from the run mid-April to provide a couple of weeks of service on the cross-gulf route to Yakutat, Whittier, Kodiak and other communities that have been without any service while their usual ferry, the Tustumena, has been in winter overhaul since mid-January.

The Tustumena is scheduled to return to service on the Gulf of Alaska route on May 2, freeing the Kennicott to come back to Southeast.

The Kennicott will stop in Wrangell on its southbound voyage to Ketchikan and Bellingham, Washington, on April 15, then not return to town until its northbound run on May 3.

The Kennicott, which is scheduled to go into layup status in May when the Columbia comes out of winter overhaul to take over the Southeast mainline route, will stay on the job a little longer than expected. The Columbia is delayed coming out of the shipyard in Ketchikan, said Gabe Strong, public information officer for the Alaska Marine Highway System.

Instead of going back to work on May 6, the Columbia now is expected out of the shipyard on May 20, Strong said in an email on March 27.

The Kennicott will delay its summer vacation until the Columbia is back at work, Strong said.

The Columbia has been in winter layup and overhaul since late November.

The state ferry system plans to send the Columbia back to the shipyard next winter for extensive work, including replacement of rusted steel and leaky windows, and a new firefighting system.

The marine highway’s summer schedule starts May 1, with more frequent service on heavily traveled routes such as Juneau to Haines and Skagway. The schedule to Wrangell will be the same as during the winter season: One northbound stop on Sundays and a southbound stop on Wednesdays.