Kennicott delayed coming back to service, disruptions possible

AMHS officials making new schedule that keeps Columbia operating longer before it goes in for service most of the coming year

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

By Larry Persily

Wrangell Sentinel

State ferry officials on Monday were trying to work out a new early-December schedule after learning that the Kennicott will be delayed coming out of a yearlong layup at a Puget Sound shipyard for new generators and maintenance work.

The Columbia had been scheduled to leave service to go into its winter maintenance layup starting Wednesday, Nov. 26, when it pulls into Ketchikan on its southbound run. The Kennicott had been scheduled to pick up the route, replacing the Columbia, between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast Alaska starting Dec. 3.

But that plan sank last week when the Alaska Marine Highway System reported that while “performing design verification test procedures (Nov. 20) … we experienced an issue with the control panel which will delay completion” of work on the Kennicott, said Shannon McCarthy, spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Transportation.

“They were testing the new EasyGen (power) system, which ties into the switchboard,” McCarthy explained. “During testing, the control panel kept incorrectly opening the circuit breakers. It can happen when you have a legacy component.”

With the Kennicott in the shop longer than expected, “we are now exploring options to keep the Columbia in operation for a couple weeks,” she said. “There are always some operational issues to work through when making a schedule change like this.”

The Kennicott, which was built in 1998, has been out of service all year for new generators and other overhaul and maintenance work. The generators alone were estimated at more than $24 million, according to an Alaska Marine Highway System presentation earlier this year.

Until last week, Wrangell was scheduled to say goodbye to the departing Columbia on Nov. 26, with no service until the Kennicott stopped on its northbound run Dec. 7.

Earlier this year, the Alaska Marine Highway System decided to cancel plans to replace the Columbia’s controllable-pitch propellers in 2026, opting to keep the ship in service until a replacement vessel is built. The ferry was constructed in 1973.

The project was estimated in 2022 to cost as much as $20 million.

The Columbia, the largest vessel in the fleet, had been scheduled to head into a shipyard for the propellers replacement project for most of 2026, putting more pressure on the Kennicott to operate all year without a backup. Without that project, the Columbia will leave service for routine winter maintenance and overhaul work.

Ferry system management early this year decided to cancel the propellers project while it waits for a new mainline ferry, which is years away from construction. There is no design and no funding as of now.

Ferry system management said in February they had conducted more analysis of the Columbia’s system and was confident the ship could remain in service for several years without the new propeller units.

• This story was originally published by the Wrangell Sentinel.