Two sailings for the M/V Fairweather, the state’s fast
vehicle ferry, have been cancelled so that the ferry can be taken to
Ketchikan for lay-up. Fairweather would normally have sailed to
Haines and Skagway on Sunday, January 23, and to Sitka on Monday,
January 24.
“We announced on January 3 that, without a new agreement with the
maritime unions to allow the Fairweather to be economically operated
through the winter season, we would cease operations on January 25,”
said DOT&PF Commissioner Mike Barton. “In order to move the ferry to
Ketchikan, where it is scheduled to be drydocked in mid-February, we
will have to sail for Ketchikan on the 23rd . This will give us enough
time to return crewmembers to Juneau by the 25th.
“Our negotiators did achieve a tentative agreement on the fast vehicle
ferry with the Inlandboatmen’s Union, but the remaining two maritime
unions have not yet been to the table,” Barton said.