The M/V Matanuska stopped in Wrangell last Sunday evening. This is the first stop by an AMHS ferry in Wrangell in several months. Donald Templin, with the Alaska Marine Highway, said that the last ferry to stop in Wrangell was on January 25, also the Matanuska. The ferry system has faced many struggles in recent history, including budget cuts, a strike, and an aging fleet. The COVID-19 pandemic has also led to several new safety guidelines for workers and travelers to follow. Among these protocols, according to the Alaska Marine Highway website, includes limited passenger capacities, crew screenings, and passenger screenings for long voyages. The Matanuska arrived from Ketchikan, according to the schedule on the AMHS website, and departed for Petersburg later that evening.
The M/V Matanuska arrived in Wrangell Sunday evening during its first voyage of the season out of Bellingham, but that same day a passenger onboard the M/V Kennicott, which left Bellingham on June 27, tested positive for COVID-19.
The protocols that the Alaska Marine Highway System has in place to prevent the spread of the virus seem to have limited the infection to the one individual who only had one other close contact, according to a press release issued by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.
"This is an example of everyone doing everything right," said Anne Zink, Chief Medical Officer for Alaska in the press release. "But this is a sneaky virus and travel is inherently risky during a global pandemic."
A crew member on board the M/V Tustumena tested positive for COVID-19 in early June, according to a DOT press release. While six additional crew members did test positive for the virus, all six passengers on board and the remaining 28 crew members tested negative, according to the press release.
If a passenger develops COVID-19 symptoms while onboard a ferry, the individual is required to isolate themselves and take a test upon arrival at their destination, said Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities Communications Director Meadow Bailey in an email to the Petersburg Pilot. Should the passenger test positive, a quarantine or isolation situation would be put in place for all passengers and crew on board the vessel and would last at least 14 days, according to Bailey. The passengers and crew would also likely be tested for COVID-19.
According to Bailey, should a 14 day quarantine be put in place, the passengers and crew would be able to leave the ship, but wouldn't be allowed to use any form of public transportation for at least 14 days and would be monitored by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.
Additionally, anyone riding a ferry out of Bellingham to Alaska will have to have a negative test for COVID-19 before getting on the ferry, and will have to test negative a second time upon arriving in Alaska.
Along with their procedures to limit the spread of COVID-19, AMHS has cut back on their sailings for the season. Only five ferries are scheduled to be sailing this summer. The M/V Tazlina and M/V Columbia will not be in service this season.
As of last week, DOT is not considering the further reduction of ferry services in its planning to address an increasing public positive COVID-19 situation, according to Bailey.
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