The 58-year-old state ferry Matanuska needs additional time in a Ketchikan shipyard for steel decking replacement and other repairs, forcing cancellation of more sailings to Southeast communities and leaving Wrangell without any service between Jan. 11 and Feb. 4.
The Alaska Marine Highway System on Dec. 27 announced that the Matanuska’s return to service — previously set for early December, then reset to Jan. 17 — has been delayed for a third time. The latest return date is Jan. 31.
The ship has been out of service since early October for annual winter overhaul and maintenance.
Cancellation of the ship’s January sailings will leave Wrangell with just two ferry stops all month. As of Monday, the Kennicott, which is covering for the Matanuska, was scheduled to arrive southbound at 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 7, and return northbound at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 11.
After that, the community will be without ferry service until the Matanuska returns to service and stops northbound on Feb. 4, a span of 23 days.
“Welders in the Ketchikan shipyard worked extended hours to replace and repair damaged steel on the Matanuska,” the state Department of Transportation announced Dec. 27. “Unfortunately, due to the extent of additional repairs and vendor delays, the ship’s expected return to service is now Jan. 31.”
“Steel damage is not uncommon on older ships,” the statement said. “Additional repairs of control systems, the waste heat boiler system, and a generator repair are needed, and vendor delays are impacting the ship’s schedule.”
The Matanuska is now scheduled to depart Ketchikan on Jan. 31 for Bellingham, Washington, where it will resume its regular route of generally weekly sailings through Southeast, including weekly stops in Wrangell in each direction.
The Kennicott’s fill-in service for Southeast will end Jan. 13 when the ferry heads to the shipyard for its winter work. The smaller LeConte, which is helping to cover the Lynn Canal communities of Haines and Skagway in the absence of the Matanuska, will stop service when it goes to the shipyard the second week of January, leaving those communities without any service for a few weeks.
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