OPINION: Are we headed for the rocks?
Published 9:30 am Friday, May 1, 2026
The question is are we ready for the summer?
What happens if we have a serious breakdown of a vessel because needed repairs weren’t completed during the winter months of layup. If a vessel is down for maintenance in the summer, we simply are without service to many communities of southeast Alaska.
The attention seems focused on scrapping the Matanuska. At the same time, the emphasis is on increasing the fares to an all-time high. The mentality from the DOT is she’s old and tired and needs 125 pounds of replacement steel to repair rust. I don’t accept the state’s estimate of $800,000 a month for fuel, crew and other expenses to keep it ship shape for worker housing when the ship is not operational. You could buy a lot of hotel rooms for $800,000 a month. Then we are told it will cost at least $45M to bring the vessel operational.
Our action continues to compare an old ship with a new one. A more realistic approach might be having a survey by competitive shipyards (Ketchikan versus Seattle) by extending the life of the vessel; 3 or 4 years. That estimate is offered in comparison to a new vessel at somewhere over $85M or thereabouts.
Or better yet, has any effort been made to lease a foreign vessel? We did it before with the Wickersham under Governor Hickel and had an exemption from the Jones Act. It worked once, could it work again?
One has to recognize that the Matakunsa was operational until a decision was made to tie it up. If Coast Guard inspection is a problem, then what will it take to meet current inspection requirements?
The bottom line is that we keep reducing the level of service because we have not replaced or done timely maintenance to the original fleet, and now 60 years have passed and what we have to show for it is the system has been mismanaged year after year. And now time is almost up and it is the Marine Highway System headed to the scrap yard. I believe it is not too late to review all our alternatives including some of those that I have suggested before it sinks for good.
Frank H. Murkowski is a former U.S. senator and Alaska governor.
