An unanticipated need for more repairs due to extensive steel wastage in the car deck has set back the M/V Tustumena’s return to service on the Alaska Marine Highway System.
It is anticipated that the Tustumena will rejoin the state ferry system at 10:30 a.m. May 18, departing Homer for Kodiak, AMHS officials announced on April 4.
The Tustumena had been set for return to service in mid-April, and the schedule change impacts communities in Southwest Alaska and along the Aleutian chain.
AMHS staff are contacting affected passengers.
The 55-year-old ferry went in for a scheduled annual overhaul on Feb. 17 at the Vigor Ketchikan Shipyard. A repair plan developed in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard will ensure the ferry is safe before service resumes, AMHS officials said.
