The Alaska Marine Highway System’s M/V Columbia is scheduled for a trip to Oregon for repairs after divers noticed a bent starboard propeller late last week, according to Jeremy Woodrow, Alaska Department of Transportation spokesman.
“Not a huge bend, but there was a noticeable bend,” he said. “That was the only visible damage the divers noticed.”
Earlier in the week, the vessel was traveling Lynn Canal to Haines or Skagway when those onboard noticed a vibration. Soon after, it was discovered the vibration happened when the vessel exceeded 13 knots, its regular traveling speed is 15 knots.
“The vessel started to slow down at that point and that started causing the scheduling conflicts,” Woodrow said. “Each longer run at a slower speed the schedule delay compounds, so what we had to do was push the schedule back over the next couple weeks and find the next available ship yard to get it into dry dock.”
The vessel will continue running a delayed schedule, coming southbound through Petersburg and Wrangell on Thursday, and be taken out of service for repairs after reaching Bellingham, Washington on Sept. 25. Woodrow said if repairs go as planned the ferry will be back in service and depart Bellingham on Oct. 7. In the meantime, the M/V Matanuska will be running as scheduled.
“Especially for Petersburg passengers and Wrangell passengers, the Matanuska definitely has room,” Woodrow said. “While it’s not convenient to have your days switched around for your travel, there is definitely room.”
AMSH is working to contact people with reservations on the Columbia to inform them of the change, and Woodrow encourages
passengers to always check out ferry schedules online for updates. Service notices and schedule changes may be found at dot.alaska.gov/amhs/service_notices.shtml, through your local AMHS terminal, or by dialing 1-907-465-3941 or toll-free at 1-800-642-0066.
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