Repairs to the Alaska Marine Highway System’s M/V Columbia are going to take longer than anticipated and it won’t return to service this year, according to Jeremy Woodrow, Alaska Department of Transportation spokesman.
The ferry headed for dry dock in Oregon at the end of September to be looked over after divers in Wrangell reported a bent starboard propeller. After arriving in Oregon, the damage turned into much more, and the vessel will take around six weeks to repair, Woodrow says.
“Upon dry dock inspection it was discovered that the propeller blade was actually in good condition, but the propeller did indeed get hit by something,” he says. “And it damaged the components that associate with the propeller mechanism, so all the internal components were damaged.”
The repairs will keep the Columbia from returning to service before it’s scheduled to go into layup for the winter. The vessel would have run until Sept. 13. Now the M/V Kennicott will be stepping in and begin making the Columbia’s runs starting Oct. 7.
Woodrow says the vessel is smaller and the schedule will be subject to change. He encourages passengers to always check out ferry schedules online for updates or call local terminals for information.
AMHS is working to contact people with reservations on the Columbia to inform them of the change. This time of year, there are more customers headed south than north.
“We have a lot of that come up and work tourism jobs or just do their Alaska trip and then they head south during the late summer, early fall,” Woodrow says.
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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