Wales Island News

NOAA announced the official launch of its 2015 Arctic hydrographic survey season took place this morning, in Kodiak, Alaska, in a World Ocean Day ceremony which showcased the deployment of the NOAA ships Rainier and Fairweather. “Most Arctic waters that are charted were surveyed with obsolete technology, with some of the information dating back to Captain Cook's voyages, long before the region was part of the United States,” said NOAA deputy under secretary for operations Vice Admiral Michael S. Devany in remarks directed to the crews of NOAA ships.

NOAA Ship Rainier returns to Alaska to conduct sea floor surveys in support of safe navigation. NOAA Ship Rainier has begun a month long survey of the sea floor near Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island as part of a multi-year effort to update nautical charts for the area. In addition to supporting marine navigation, data acquired by the 231-foot hydrographic survey vessel will also support marine ecosystem studies and improve inundation models for areas vulnerable to tsunamis. “We are pleased to return to Alaska to continue these important surveys…

On October 6, a new passenger and vehicle ferry that will service Prince of Wales Island, Alaska floated for the first time. Elliott Bay Design Group completed the contract design of this 197-ft. ferry and has served as Owner's Representative throughout vessel construction at Dakota Creek Industries in Anacortes, Wash. Since the launching, the vessel has been receiving finishing touches with sea trials set to begin in early November. Features ferry passengers have to look forward too include inside and covered outside seating areas, children's playroom, a library/reading room, and coffee shop. Special attention was also given to the hull design acoustics, with the goal of providing passengers a comfortable ride.

There are several quick conclusions you can draw about passenger boat construction in the new millennium. First it is a smaller market than 10 years ago with far fewer boats being built today than a decade ago. Secondly almost all of these vessels are built on the east or west coast. There are virtually no passenger boats being built in the south. Third, the number one vessel type being built is the ferryboat and more specifically the all-passenger ferry that shuttles people at 25 knots or better. In the years between 1987 and 1993 shipyards all over the country were building 600-passenger excursion-dinner boats in great numbers as sightseeing and dining vessels on America’s great rivers, lakes and bays became increasingly popular.

For years the citizens of Prince of Wales Island in southeast Alaska were only able to commute to the Island of Ketchikan on a weekly basis, leaving them frustrated and isolated. In January of 2002 the 150 passenger car/ferry Prince of Wales entered service providing a much awaited daily transportation link between the two islands, and providing the 5,000 residents of the remote southeast Alaska region with a critical link and regular, reliable service—something they had long been without. It took long years of hard work to accomplish this contact with the outside. The community, unhappy with the level of service provided to them by the Alaska Marine Highway system…

Guido Perla, Chairman of Guido Perla and Associates, announced the delivery of the M/V Stikine, a 197-ft. passenger-vehicle ferry, to Inter-Island Ferry Authority (IFA) for its new northern route between Prince of Wales Island’s Coffman Cove, Wrangell, and Petersburg terminals in Southeast Alaska. “GPA provided the construction engineering for the first IFA ferry, M/V Prince of Wales in 2001, and, ultimately, was hired as the owners’ naval architect for the design development for the similar M/V Stikine. GPA continued to act as the owner’s representative throughout vessel construction at Dakota Creek Industries in Anacortes, WA. The GPA team enhanced the ferry’s design by upgrading the passenger deck layout…

For years the citizens of Prince of Wales Island in southeast Alaska were only able to commute to the Island of Ketchikan on a weekly basis, leaving them frustrated and isolated. In January of 2002 the 150 passenger car/ferry Prince of Wales entered service providing a much awaited daily transportation link between the two islands, and providing the 5,000 residents of the remote southeast Alaska region with a critical link and regular, reliable service-something they had long been without. It took long years of hard work to accomplish this contact with the outside. The community, unhappy with the level of service provided to them by the Alaska Marine Highway system…