Coastal residents in Gulf of Alaska communities have until the end of day to submit written comments on the Alaska Marine Highway System’s winter ferry schedule.
The draft schedule, which covers sailings from October through the end of April, currently has no ferry service listed for Cordova for roughly five months this winter, from Oct. 1 through March 5. Typically, the M/V Aurora sails from Valdez to Whittier and then Cordova daily before heading back through those communities the following day.
State lawmakers Gary Stevens and Louise Stutes, who both represent Kodiak, Cordova and Seward in the Alaska Legislature, wrote a letter to the state Department of Transportation urging the marine highway system to find alternatives for Cordova. The legislators said that without reliable ferry service this winter, the Cordova School District will have to cancel dozens of academic and athletic trips, and local small businesses will suffer.
The proposed winter ferry schedule also left out “cross Gulf” routes that go from Juneau to Whittier. That would mean no ferry service for Yakutat either, if this draft becomes reality.
Alaskans have also been calling for the state to bring back ferry routes that stop in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The last time a ferry sailed from Prince Rupert to Southeast Alaska was in 2022, according to reporting from KRBD in Ketchikan. The state is now considering building a ferry terminal in Hyder instead of trying to revive routes through Prince Rupert.
Residents who miss the deadline to submit written comments on the draft winter ferry schedule can also share their input with the state online via Zoom during a virtual public meeting on Thursday morning at 9 a.m. for Southeast communities, or 11 a.m. for Southwest and Southcentral communities.
