MV Taku
M/V "Taku" is a "Malaspina"-class mainline vessel built for the Alaska Marine Highway System. The ship has been retired and was sold to a Dubai-based company for $171,000. The owner sought to sell the ferry internationally, and was unsuccessful, and it was last seen beached in Alang, India, to be scrapped. History. Designed by Philip F. Spaulding & Associates, constructed in 1963 by the Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Company in Seattle, Washington, the M/V "Taku" is named after Taku Glacier which is located just southeast of Juneau, Alaska and has been in the ferry  system for over forty years. In 1981, the "Taku" received a major refurbishment and was in service steadily until the summer of 2015 when she was laid up due to budget considerations. The AMHS subsequently announced that it would retire the vessel in preparation for sale or scrapping. Role. As a mainline ferry, "Taku" served the larger of the inside passage communities (such as Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Sitka), its route primarily stayed between Ketchikan and Skagway in Southeast Alaska. The M/V "Taku" was the largest of the three AMHS vessels able to serve the communities of Hoonah and Kake  and because of this served as a critical component of providing transportation out of Hoonah and Kake after the "milk run" ferry, the hit a rock and went into dry dock. Amenities. The "Taku"s amenities included a hot-food cafeteria; bar; solarium; forward, aft, recliner, movie, and business lounges; gift shop; 8 four-berth cabins; and 36 two-berth cabins.