MV Matanuska
MV "Matanuska, colloquially known as the Mat", is a mainline "Malaspina"-class ferry vessel operated by the Alaska Marine Highway System. Construction and characteristics. In 1959, as Alaska became a state, one of the top priorities of its coastal residents was improved ferry service. As early as February 1960 bills were introduced in the new state legislature to create a ferry authority. Alaska voters approved a $23 million bond issue in November 1960 to fund a state ferry system. Seattle naval architect Philip F. Spaulding was consulted by Governor William A. Egan as to what types of ships  should be built and in May 1961 his firm was hired to design the first ships built for the new state system, "Matanuska", and her sister-ships MV "Malaspina", and MV "Taku""." Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Company of Seattle won the contract to build the three ships with a low-bid of $10,445,000. "Matanuska's" keel was laid on July 6, 1962 in the same graving dock from which "Taku" was launched just a few days before. She was the last built of the three sister-ships. The ship was launched on December 5, 1962. She was christened  by Anne Lewellen, wife of Alaska Marine Transportation Division Director Bafford E. Lewellen. George N. Hayes, Alaska attorney general, was the principal speaker at the ceremony. "Matanuska" completed her sea trials in May 1963 and was turned over to her new owners. She left Seattle for Alaska on June 7, 1963. The ship is long with a beam of , and a fully-loaded draft of . She displaces 5,569 long tons. Her gross tonnage calculated under international rules is 9,214, while her U.S. register gross tonnage is 3,029. At the time of their launch, the three sister-ships were the largest  U.S.-flagged motorized ferries. "Matanuska" can carry 450 passengers. She has 106 passenger staterooms with berths for 243. These are divided into 79 two-berth, 21 three-berth, 5 four-berth, and 1 wheelchair-accessible cabins. Passengers without a stateroom may use coin-operated lockers to stow their luggage, and public showers. She has a cafeteria, solarium, children's play area, and observation lounge. Her vehicle deck has of lanes which can accommodate 83 standard-sized vehicles. The ship cruises at 16.5 knots, at which speed she burns 234 gallons of fuel per hour. She has two Electro-Motive Diesel 16 -710 G7C-T3 engines, each rated at 3,999 hp, which she uses for propulsion. This is the third set of main engines with which "Matanuska" has been equipped. In 2018 they replaced two MaK 9M453B 3,620 hp engines, which were installed in 1985. Her original engines were manufactured by the Enterprise Engine & Foundry division of General Metals Corporation. She has two four-bladed variable-pitch propellers, and a bow thruster to improve maneuverability. "Matanuska" normally sails with a crew of 48. There are crew quarters aboard so the ship can embark multiple watches for longer trips. All Alaska Marine Highway  System ships are named after glaciers. "Matanuska" is named for the Matanuska Glacier in the Chugach Mountains. Governor Egan announced the new name on September 4, 1962. Operating history. "Matanuska's" first route was from Prince Rupert, B.C, one end of the North American road network, to Skagway, with stops in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau, and Haines. Passengers who travelled the entire 30-hour trip paid $30 plus another $7.50 if they wanted a berth. Cars embarking at Prince Rupert paid $118 to reach Haines, where they could once again connect to mainland roads, or $ 122.50 to go through to Skagway at the end of the line. She began her operational career on June 10, 1963 when she embarked 154 passengers and 45 cars at Prince Rupert. The initial public response to "Matanuska" was positive. During her first month of commercial operation, from June 15 to July 15, she carried 6,496 passengers and 1,302 vehicles. The Alaska Marine Highway System as a whole reached its four-year forecast for passenger boardings in the first six months of operation. Ferry traffic peaked during the summer months when tourists visited Alaska, so routine maintenance on "Matanuska" has  generally been scheduled during the winter months. For example, on January 6, 1964 she left Ketchikan for shipyards in Seattle. She stopped at Lake Union Drydock Company for the installation of additional staterooms, Todd shipyards for equipment overhauls, and back to her builder, Puget Sound Bridge and Dry Dock, for warranty work. As in this 1964 maintenance interval, much of her routine maintenance during her early decades was done in Washington shipyards. As Alaska Ship and Drydock in Ketchikan became more capable, some of this work was done in-state. A $5.1 million contract for "Matanuska's" winter 2001  work was the largest contract ever received by the company at that time. In December of 1967 "Matanuska" inaugurated direct ferry service between the Lower 48 and Alaska. She completed the route between Seattle and Ketchikan in about 43 hours. While the southern terminus of this route was moved to Bellingham in October 1989, the Inside Passage route remains part of the Alaska Marine Highway System. "Matanuska" has sailed it periodically over the years including in 2020. Alaska's ships periodically failed to meet demand for lack of sufficient capacity. This was particularly true when one of them was out  of service for maintenance. "Malaspina" was lengthened in 1972 at the Willamette Iron & Steel Company in Portland Oregon to increase her capacity. In July 1977, the state of Alaska awarded a $15,228,500 contract to the same shipyard to lengthen "Matanuska" as well. The ship was cut in two and a new midsection, long, was welded into the hull just ahead of the funnel. New staterooms, crew quarters, dining facilities, deckhouses, elevators and masts were added. In May 2018 "Matanuska" was taken out of service and began a major refit, including the replacement of her main engines, reduction gears, propeller  shafts, shaft bearings, and variable-pitch propellers, among other items. The work was done by Vigor Industrial at its Portland shipyard. The refit ultimately cost $47 million and took until November 2019 to complete. In January 2020, one of her new reduction gears failed and she was out of service again for more repairs. Aside from her mechanical troubles, in 2020 "Matanuska" and the rest of the Alaska Marine Highway System were affected by COVID-19 and by budget cuts imposed by Governor Mike Dunleavy. "Matanuska" was scheduled to resume her mainline route from Bellingham to Skagway on July 3 , 2020, but without service to the Prince Rupert terminal due to virus restrictions. Service was suspended temporarily in August for crew testing when five passenger tested positive for the virus. Accidents. The waters of Southeast Alaska plied by "Matanuska" are complex. There are a number of narrow passages, and high tidal ranges and swift currents are the norm. This has led to a number of accidents over the years. "Matanuska" was passing through Sergius Narrows north of Sitka on August 31, 1963 when she scraped her port side on a submerged ledge. Damage was slight, but she was forced to  sail to Seattle for a dry dock inspection and repairs. It was her captain's first trip through the narrows. On September 24, 1964 the ship hit a submerged object in Wrangell Narrows and bent three of the four blades on her starboard propeller as well as her starboard propeller shaft. She was forced to sail to Seattle on one engine for repairs. The ship was backing in to the ferry terminal in Bellingham on February 1, 1991 when some sort of mechanical failure occurred. High winds complicated maneuvering at the time of the failure. "Matanuska" backed into a dock , crushing it, with pieces falling on to her stern. Cars on the ferry's vehicle deck were crushed and gasoline spilled. Two passengers were injured. The ship was taken out of service briefly and underwent repairs at a Bellingham shipyard. On May 7, 2012, "Matanuska" collided with the dock of the Ocean Beauty Seafoods processing plant in Petersburg. Damage was extensive to the building and dock, while the ship received only "dents...above the waterline". There were no injuries either ashore or on "Matanuska". After an inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard, she was deemed seaworthy and continued on to  other ports to pick up passengers, though two hours behind schedule. The cause of the crash was determined to be conning errors made by the master, who attempted to use a known countercurrent to slow the ship on the approach in to port. However, the countercurrent was not present that day, resulting in a higher than expected approach speed. "Matanuska" was carrying 60 passengers at the time of the crash.