On Saturday afternoon the ferry Tustumena is scheduled to pull away from the dock in the channel and not return until May 1.
The Alaska Marine Highway vessel will be getting its annual mandated overhaul at a shipyard in Ketchikan.
Since the other ferry that services the island, the Kennicott, is already in the yards for its mandatory work, that leaves Kodiak with no ferry service for approximately three months.
The Kennicott is due back into service in mid-April, with its first Kodiak visit on Friday, April 24.
If you look at the online schedule, you will notice that it only goes as far as May.
Caitlin Frye is a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Transportation. She said the reason the online schedule seems to stop abruptly has nothing to do with the ferries.
It is simply administrative. They haven’t created the summer schedule for Alaska’s ferries yet. After a tentative summer schedule is created, it will go out for public comments before being finalized.
Once the schedule is finalized, it will be posted to the website. Then Kodiak passengers will be able to see the arrivals and departures for the two vessels throughout the summer.