Alaska Shipbuilder Finishing Unique Ferry

A unique $68 million ferry – an icebreaking catamaran with a variable draft for landing -- is nearing completion at Alaska Ship and Dry Dock in Ketchikan Alaska, according to a report from the  Alaska Journal of Commerce.

The ferry is scheduled for christening in January 2010, going into service the next year. The U.S. Navy will test the vessel, and turn it over to the Matanuska Susitna Borough. Anchorage and Mat-Su officials must still determine where the vessel will dock on the Anchorage side, however. The ferry, which will operate in Knik Arm waters between Anchorage and Port MacKenzie, is a catamaran variable draft watercraft that will have a moveable center section, according to the report

It is designed to carry at least 20 cars and 100 passengers at up to 20 knots.