More challenges ahead for the Alaska Marine Highway Service

Taking the winter off ... the Alaska Transportation Agency will
be tying up the Alaska Ferry MV Columbia for the winter

The financial challenges facing the Alaska Marine Highway System are about to take another bite out of the fleet, with the State of Alaska transportation department making plans to mothball the largest vessel in the fleet for the upcoming fall and winter.

According to a report from public radio station KRBD, The MV Columbia which includes Prince Rupert among the communities that it has called on in the past, will be taken out of service on September 4th with its fate unknown as the Marine Service assess any future use for the ship.

Replacing the vessel on its routing will be the MV Malaspina and MV Matanuska, which are smaller vessels and considered less expensive to operate.

Though by reducing the fleet by yet another vessel, there is less of a margin for emergency replacement, should operational issues affect those ships that remain in service.

Once the Columbia is tied for the winter, the main long journey fleet will consist of but four ferries.

Beyond the fleet reduction, a reduced budget for the Alaska Marine Highway could see a number of other routes curtailed during the winter season as AMHS official try to address their funding shortfalls.

The Alaska Transportation Agency and AMHS will reassess their plans once the summer season comes to an end, as they look to continue to keep the ships afloat amid uncertainty in Juneau as to the fate of the service.

The Alaska Marine Highway System continues to look at ways to reduce costs
the latest plan that of taking the largest vessel out of service for the winter

Last year, service to Prince Rupert was suspended for much of the winter months, with the first sailing for 2019 not taking place until late February.

In May, Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain in response to inquiries on the fate of the local terminal from Councillor Gurvinder Randhawa, offered up a few notes on the level of service to the North Coast port, advising as to how he has been "actively working on the topic" promising a further update  once he had assembled more information.

However, since that May 13th session, the Mayor has yet to follow up on that promised update for those on the North Coast wondering about the fate of the AMHS service and its impact on the local terminal.

On Monday, KRBD provided some further background to the fate of the Columbia and the fall plans from the AMHS.

For more notes related to Marine transportation on the North Coast and beyond see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.