State officials have approved a bid from KeyMar LLC of Portland, Ore., to purchase the ferry M/V Taku for $300,000, while the state will retain some $500,000 worth of lifesaving and other equipment salvaged off of the ferry.
This equipment will be used on the new Alaska Class ferries and active ships on an as-needed basis said Captain John Falvey, general manager of the Alaska Marine Highway System.
“With the value of the equipment the state has already removed from the shupi, we can confidently say this offer was the best value possible,” Falvey said on Sept. 19. “We’re happy to have a viable sale and to see the vessel take on a new life down in Portland.”
KeyMar offered a sealed bid and vessel relocation plan, with plans to renovate and use the M/V Taku as a floating hotel in Portland. Two other companies offered bids of roughly $50,000.
The M/V Taku is currently moored in Ward Cove at Ketchikan. Vessel ownership and responsibility transfers to the new owner when the purchases closes. The sale closing date has not yet been set.
The M/V Taku, constructed in 1963, was determined to be excess to the needs of the state for ferry vessels and outside the realm of what the state can afford to maintain and operate in passenger service with available funding.
The ferry was taken out of service on June 23, 2015, after more than 50 years of service with AMHS.
