Facing further delays in shipyard, the state has canceled the Tustumena’s sailings for the rest of the summer. Department of Transportation spokesperson Jeremy Woodrow says welding work on the ship’s hull once again failed a Coast Guard inspection.
“Because those welds haven’t met the standards, the Coast Guard has said ‘you need to redo this larger area,’ so that it meets their requirements.”
There’s no timeline for how long it might take to complete that work, so DOT has canceled the Tustumena’s sailings. The Aleutians won’t be left completely without ferry service though. Woodrow says the Kennicott will make at least one run out to the Chain in September.
On Wednesday, the state canceled the Tustumena’s next two sailings to Southwest Alaska.
Six hundred passengers were scheduled to ride the ferry on those trips, and as KUCB’s Stephanie Joyce reports, some of them are struggling to make alternate arrangements on short notice.
For the fourth time this summer, the M/V Tustumena’s return to service has been pushed back. The Alaska Department of Transportation is now saying that the ferry won’t be ready to sail until the end of August.
In an inspection last week, the Coast Guard found deficiencies with some of the welding work on the ship’s hull. DOT spokesperson Jeremy Woodrow says the ferry can’t sail until the issues are fixed.
“The welds definitely need to be watertight, they’re part of the chambers that help the ship float,” Woodrow says.
The ferry Tustumena is delayed in shipyard yet again. The ship was scheduled to be back in the water on Monday, but a Coast Guard inspection revealed problems with some of the welding work on the ship’s hull.
Lieutenant Commander Dan Buchsbaum says Seward Ship’s Drydock will need to fix the deficiencies, and have the ferry inspected again. That involves bringing in a technician to x-ray the welds and make sure they’re solid.
Shipyard manager Pinkney Cunningham says the work and the inspection will probably keep the ferry in drydock for an additional two weeks.
The Polar Star in port on June 27, 2013. (Audrey Carlsen/KUCB)
The United States’ only heavy icebreaker will soon be back in service after a four-year, $90 million renovation. The USCGC Polar Star left Unalaska Friday to undergo several weeks of ice trials in the Arctic.
The 399-foot-long ship is painted bright red. Its decks are clean and shiny, and brand-new anchors rest in neatly coiled piles of chain on the prow. Ensign Paul Garcia explains that this is all the result of a massive overhaul of the ship that wrapped up in 2012. “The engines were getting replaced, the main gas turbines were getting replaced, all of our cranes ... those are all brand new," he says.
Flights to and from Atka have been cancelled for more than two weeks, and some passengers are starting to lose patience with Grant Aviation.
Although flights to the western Aleutian community are often delayed because of bad weather, the current hold-up is related to mechanical problems with the aircraft Grant Aviation uses to fly to Atka.
Resident Crystal Dushkin says it’s unacceptable that they haven’t brought in a replacement.
Captain Billy Pepper Playing Taps on the Harmonica, Courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife Service
Seventy years ago, American forces recaptured the Aleutian Island of Attu from the Japanese, in the only ground battle fought on U.S. soil during the war. The fighting, which ended on May 30, 1943, took a heavy toll on both sides, but the battle is often forgotten by the history books.
Earlier this month, in an effort to remember both the soldiers and the 44 Unangan villagers who lost their homes on the island, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service installed a memorial on Attu. KUCB’s Stephanie Joyce reports.
The equipment from Adak’s fish processing plant was auctioned off in one piece Tuesday morning. The City of Adak and the Adak Community Development Corporation jointly submitted the winning bid of $1.8 million.
Rhode Island-based Independence Bank was selling the equipment in the wake of Icicle Seafoods’ departure from Adak earlier this year. They offered it up wholesale first, and the Adak partnership outbid two other potential buyers -- one unidentified, and Anchorage-based Rotating Services, LLC.
The $1.8 million bid bought all of the equipment inside the plant – from the cod processing lines to the forklifts. It didn’t, however, come with a lease on the facility, which is owned by Aleut Enterprise.
It’s been a rocky 12 years since Adak was incorporated as a city.
The community has survived power crises, crushing debt, and twice, the closure of its biggest business -- the fish processing plant. Now Adak is facing a new setback.
On Tuesday, the processing plant’s equipment will be auctioned off, and as KUCB’s Stephanie Joyce reports, if it leaves the island, Adak will be left without its economic engine.
