Columbia back at work until Dec. 17 to cover for Kennicott

The Kennicott state ferry. (Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities photo)

By Larry Persily

Wrangell Sentinel

The Alaska Marine Highway System has put the Columbia back to work through Dec. 17 to cover for the Kennicott, which is delayed leaving a Puget Sound shipyard.

The Kennicott was scheduled to start running the first week of December between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast Alaska, but the state reported last month that the ship would be delayed two weeks coming out of the shipyard where it has been for a new generator and other repairs.

The Kennicott is now scheduled to leave Ketchikan on Wednesday, Dec. 17, for Bellingham, to start its regular weekly run to Southeast on Friday, Dec. 19.

The Alaska Marine Highway System was able last week to obtain U.S. Coast Guard approval to run the Columbia a little longer before its winter overhaul, so as to avoid the loss of mainline ferry service through Southeast.

"The U.S. Coast Guard completed the Columbia’s certificate of inspection on Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 1-2) and approved our extension … so the vessel can cover the Kennicott runs," Danielle Tessen, communications manager for the Alaska Department of Transportation, said Dec. 4.

“The Coast Guard was such a huge assist to getting that done,” said Shannon McCarthy, a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Transportation. “All passengers have been contacted.”

According to the ferry system’s online schedule, the Columbia, after being held out of service for 10 days, went back to sea on Sunday, Dec. 7, when it left Ketchikan for Wrangell on its northbound run through Southeast.

The schedule shows the Columbia leaving service on Dec. 17, after completing its southbound run from Wrangell to Ketchikan, where it will head to the shipyard for winter work.

The ferry system pulls all of its ships out of service each year, generally one at a time, for maintenance and any needed repairs, requiring tight scheduling with the privately operated shipyard in Ketchikan that handles most of the work.

The Kennicott, which was built in 1998, has been out of service all year for installation of new generators to meet emissions standards and other overhaul and maintenance work.

When workers ran some tests on Nov. 20, they discovered an electrical problem between the power system and switchboard, according to the state. “During testing, the control panel kept incorrectly opening the circuit breakers.”

Finding and fixing the problem extended the ferry’s stay at the shipyard.

• This story originally appeared in the Wrangell Sentinel.