Two vessel changes could save the Alaska Marine Highway System from spending tens of millions of dollars, according to a release from the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
A December meeting of the Alaska Marine Transportation Advisory Board showed that the ferry system would need $30 million to install crew quarters on the Alaska-Class Ferries Hubbard and Tazlina, according to a report<\/a> from the Anchorage Daily News.<\/p>\n To avoid most of those costs, AMHS is putting the Tazlina in Lynn Canal to replace the F\/V Fairweather starting in May 2019. The Hubbard will then move to Prince William Sound to replace the Aurora in 2020, according to Wednesday’s release. This will save the ferry system $27 million that would have been used to add crew cabins, the release states.<\/p>\n Forward side doors will be installed on the Hubbard and Tazlina at a total cost of $3 million. The DOT&PF release stated that this could also lead to other savings by getting the Aurora and Fairweather off the water before they required a combined $11 million in repairs this year. Upcoming engine repairs to the Aurora alone would have totaled $10 million, according to the release.<\/p>\n This doesn’t change the plans dramatically for the Aurora and Fairweather. The Fairweather was already scheduled to be laid up indefinitely in September 2019, DOT&PF spokesperson Aurah Landau said Wednesday. The Aurora was headed for those major engine repairs sometime soon.<\/p>\n