March 12, 2021
(KETCHIKAN, Alaska) – On March 10, 2021, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) finalized the sale of the AMHS vessels Fairweather and Chenega to Servicios y Concesiones Maritimas Ibicencas S.A. of Ibiza, Spain. The sale price for Chenega was $3,111,111, and the Fairweather sold for $2,063,333, for a total of $5,174,444. AMHS will transfer the proceeds into its Vessel Construction Fund, an account used for future AMHS vessel maintenance and construction. The buyer has taken possession and plans to transport the vessels to Spain in the coming weeks.
“This sale is a significant milestone in our long-term vision to reshape the Alaska Marine Highway System,” said DOT&PF Commissioner John MacKinnon. “Selling the fast ferries is a move to right-size the fleet and lets AMHS redirect funds used for their storage to operations. This moves us toward our goal of a more sustainable and affordable level of service for Alaskans.”
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Unalaska students will soon return to their classrooms full time; Governor Mike Dunleavy has proposed a new bill to boost independent oversight and planning for the Alaska Marine Highway System; and the Biden administration is continuing, at least for now, to defend the Trump administration s land swap in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
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Alaska says adiós to marine highway s fast ferries kcaw.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kcaw.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Credit Hope McKenney/KUCB
Ports along the Aleutian Chain between Homer and Unalaska will see only five visits of the ferry Tustumena this summer, down from the twice-monthly service that was the norm through 2019.
On Wednesday, the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) released its summer schedule, which covers state ferry travel from May through September.
The M/V Tustumena is scheduled to sail only once per month, or a total of five times, along the Aleutian route.
This lighter schedule is on par with last year s calls to Unalaska, according to Ports Director Peggy McLaughlin. Prior to 2020, AMHS had been calling on the island twice monthly May-September, with an occasional early October call.