Wrangell to go without ferry service 3 weeks in January

Wrangell will be without ferry service from Jan. 10 to Feb. 3 under the fall/winter schedule released by the Alaska Marine Highway System last week.

The rest of the seven months covered by the schedule includes a weekly stop in each direction in Wrangell, with the bonus of a second northbound and southbound sailing one week a month when the ferry travels only as far south as Prince Rupert, British Columbia, instead of the longer round-trip voyage to Bellingham, Washington.

The three-week break in service to Wrangell in January is scheduled as the Kennicott goes into winter overhaul and the Matanuska comes back to work after its winter shipyard work.

“Initially, the department intended to bring the Columbia back into service to cover service gaps during overhauls, but it has decided the most dependable option will be the continued utilization of the Kennicott and the Matanuska throughout the winter months,” the ferry system said in its schedule announcement on Sept. 14.

The Columbia has been out of service for three years for overhaul work, to save money and, most recently, when the state was unable to hire enough crew to staff the vessel for service during the busy summer season.

The ferry system is continuing its service to Prince Rupert one week a month from October through April after restarting the popular route this summer. Service to the Canadian port city was suspended in 2019 due to Canadian and U.S. customs issues, requiring a new security protocol at the ferry terminal.

Travelers can go online to dot.alaska.gov/amhs to make reservations through April.

The state made several changes to the fall/winter schedule, based on public comments received on the draft released last month. Even with the changes, however, some communities still will have stretches without service, such as Kodiak, which will go without a ferry for most of January and all of February.

Haines and Skagway will be without ferry service for four weeks — after the first week in January through the first week in February.

In building the schedule with a limited number of vessels due to winter maintenance on the ships, the ferry system said, “service has been added to accommodate coastal communities’ special events to the greatest extent practicable.”

In past winters, with the fleet stretched thin, mechanical breakdowns created significant gaps in service for some communities. “The department will also contract supplemental service if needed to cover service disruptions,” the marine highway system reported last week.

The state last winter contracted for private vessel operations to smaller communities served out of Juneau when the Matanuska was late coming out of winter repair work.

For this fall and winter, the ferry system decided to drop its “dynamic pricing” structure that imposed a surcharge on passenger, vehicle and stateroom fares on popular sailings. The pricing plan has been in effect the past three years, adding 5% to 50% to ticket prices, depending on the percentage of a ship’s capacity that is already booked.

“Returning to flat rates will provide relief to our customers as we work to improve,” John Falvey, Alaska Marine Highway System general manager, said in a prepared statement earlier this month.