I was pleased to learn that the Legislature finally has a bill, Senate Bill 170, to transfer the Alaska Marine Highway System from the Department of Transportation to a separate state-owned corporation similar to the structure of the Alaska Railroad. This would provide something that the ferry system has lacked since its inception: accountability.
The state-owned corporation would have its own budget and be managed by its own board of directors. The fact that the ferry system has been part of the Department of Transportation, which also handles airports and roads, has sometimes made it difficult to fix responsibility.
I strongly urge the Southeast Conference to generate a consensus on just what our priorities should be in the coming operating season. Our ferry system serves a niche for the visitor who wants to travel with a car, and the novel opportunity to go by ship through Bellingham, Washington, or the reopened port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
Meanwhile, there is discussion of what to do with the aging Malaspina, once known as the “queen of the fleet.” It was built along with the Taku and Matanuska in the early 1960s. The vessel has been laid up for over a year. There’s a question of the cost of replacement, estimated at $70 million to $90 million.
Some are suggesting we look at the cost of extending the ship’s life three or four years, until we are able to use our federal infrastructure funding to build a new vessel, perhaps an electric one. I strongly suggest that the Legislature ask the Transportation department for an estimate of what it might cost to extend the Malaspina’s life a few years.
We have set a pattern of getting rid of ships that are no longer active. We sold the Taku for around $121,000, yet it sailed safely from Vancouver all the way to India. When I was governor, we used that vessel in the winter because it was smaller, had fewer crew and cost less to operate.
Concern has recently been expressed about having adequate and experienced crew available for staffing the ferries in the coming season. Wouldn’t it be possible for our high schools and vocational education programs to provide an opportunity for jobs on the ferry system for graduating seniors? The instruction could be preliminary for entry-level personnel, but would potentially give them the necessary qualifications required by the Coast Guard.
The current practice of soliciting for workers outside the state, when we have young Alaskans looking for jobs after high school, is troublesome. Let’s try some training at home. We certainly have a challenge to crew the vessel Columbia for the coming season, with more than 100 job opportunities.
I also noted an article in the Sentinel that the state had contracted with an employment agency to help recruit ferry system licensed personnel; the fee paid to the agency would be $5,000 for each prospective licensed employee. I’m not sure of all the details in the contract, but this seems like an unreasonable and expensive expenditure. There might be better ways to acquire the personnel through some type of incentive program through our schools and vocational programs.
Frank Murkowski served as governor of Alaska 2002-2006, and as U.S. senator for Alaska 1981-2002.
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