Editorial: We can't afford any more mistakes

In the past 17 years and at a cost of almost $200 million, the Alaska Marine Highway System took ownership of two ferries it could not afford to run and two that it could not run everywhere they are needed.

That is painful.

The state is selling the two it can't afford to keep fueled, while spending millions to add new doors so that the other two ships can call on smaller communities in Southeast. Even then, it will take additional millions of dollars in remodeling before one of the two can truly operate as a day boat between Juneau, Haines and Skagway in Lynn Canal.

The ferry system, the state budget, the coastal communities of Alaska cannot afford any more of this. Even without such costly planning errors, far too many legislators from elsewhere in the state already see the marine highway as an expensive piece of history. We don't need to give them additional reasons to capsize the minimal service provided to coastal communities.

After the 2004-2005 delivery of the fast ferries, the Chenega and Fairweather, at a cost of $68 million, the Marine Highway System figured out it could not afford the price at the pump to keep the diesel-guzzling ships in operation. The ships burned 600 gallons an hour to haul a maximum 210 passengers each, versus the 234 gallons an hour consumed by the venerable Matanuska, with room for 450 passengers.

The 235-foot-long fast ferries haven't run in years, and the state looks close to selling them to a Mediterranean-based catamaran operator for $4.6 million. Yes, that is less than eight cents on the dollar of the construction cost.

The newest ferries in the fleet, the 280-foot-long Tazlina and Hubbard, were built in the past few years at a combined cost of $120 million but needed - and still need - modifications to be fully utilized on different routes.

As the Department of Transportation works to complete design of a replacement ship for the 57-year-old Tustemena, and as the department and the Alaska Legislature agonize over an affordable ferry system budget that would meet the needs of coastal communities, we hope that the $200 million mistakes of the past are in the wake.

Any more rough seas like that and we could find that bailing isn't enough to keep the ferries afloat.