MV Matanuska

MV Matanuska, colloquially known as the Mat, is a mainline Malaspina-class ferry vessel operated by the Alaska Marine Highway System.

MV Matanuska
History
United States
Name: Matanuska
Namesake: Matanuska Glacier, Chugach Mountains
Operator: Alaska Marine Highway System
Port of registry: Haines, Alaska
Builder: Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock
Laid down: July 6, 1962
Launched: December 5, 1962
Refit: Lengthened in 1978
Identification:
Status: in active service
General characteristics
Class and type: Malaspina-class mainline ferry
Tonnage: 9,214 gross
Displacement: 5,569 long tons (5,658 t)
Length: 408 ft (124 m)
Beam: 74 ft (23 m)
Draft: 16 ft 11.63 in (5.1722 m)
Decks:
  • One vehicle deck
  • Three passenger decks
Ramps: Aft, port, and starboard ro-ro loading
Installed power: 2 x EMD 16-710 G7C-T3 Diesel engines
Propulsion: 2 x 4-bladed variable-pitch propellers
Speed: 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Capacity:
  • 499 passengers
  • 88 vehicles
Crew: 48

Construction and characteristics

In 1959, as Alaska became a state, one of the top priorities of its coastal residents was improved ferry service. As early as February 1960 bills were introduced in the new state legislature to create a ferry authority.[1] Alaska voters approved a $23 million bond issue in November 1960 to fund a state ferry system.[2] Seattle naval architect Philip F. Spaulding was consulted by Governor William A. Egan as to what types of ships should be built[3] and in May 1961 his firm was hired to design the first ships built for the new state system, Matanuska, and her sister-ships M/V Malaspina, and M/V Taku.[4]

Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Company of Seattle won the contract to build the three ships with a low-bid of $10,445,000.[5] Matanuska's keel was laid on July 6, 1962 in the same graving dock from which Taku was launched just a few days before. She was the last built of the three sister-ships.[6] The ship was launched on December 5, 1962. She was christened by Anne Lewellen, wife of Alaska Marine Transportation Division Director Bafford E. Lewellen. George N. Hayes, Alaska attorney general, was the principal speaker at the ceremony.[7] Matanuska completed her sea trials in May 1963[8] and was turned over to her new owners. She left Seattle for Alaska on June 7, 1963.[9]

The ship is 408 feet (124 m) long with a beam of 74 feet (23 m), and a fully-loaded draft of 16 ft 11.625 in (5.2 m). She displaces 5,569 long tons. Her gross tonnage calculated under international rules is 9,214, while her U.S. register gross tonnage is 3,029.[10] At the time of their launch, the three sister-ships were the largest U.S.-flagged motorized ferries.[11]

Matanuska can carry 450 passengers. She has 106 passenger staterooms with berths for 243. These are divided into 79 two-berth, 21 three-berth, 5 four-berth, and 1 wheelchair-accessible cabins. Passengers without a stateroom may use coin-operated lockers to stow their luggage, and public showers. She has a cafeteria, solarium, children's play area, and observation lounge. Her vehicle deck has 1,675 feet (511 m) of lanes which can accommodate 83 standard-sized vehicles.[10][12]

The ship cruises at 16.5 knots, at which speed she burns 234 gallons of fuel per hour.[10] She has two Electro-Motive Diesel 16-710 G7C-T3 engines, each rated at 3,999 hp, which she uses for propulsion. This is the third set of main engines with which Matanuska has been equipped. In 2018 they replaced two MaK 9M453B 3,620 hp engines, which were installed in 1985.[13] Her original engines were manufactured by the Enterprise Engine & Foundry division of General Metals Corporation.[14] She has two four-bladed variable-pitch propellers, and a bow thruster to improve maneuverability.[15]

Matanuska normally sails with a crew of 48.[10] There are crew quarters aboard so the ship can embark multiple watches for longer trips.

All Alaska Marine Highway System ships are named after glaciers. Matanuska is named for the Matanuska Glacier in the Chugach Mountains. Governor Egan announced the new name on September 4, 1962.[16]

Operating history
MV Matanuska underway in 2005

Matanuska's first route was from Prince Rupert, B.C, one end of the North American road network, to Skagway, with stops in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau, and Haines. Passengers who travelled the entire 30-hour trip paid $30 plus another $7.50 if they wanted a berth. Cars embarking at Prince Rupert paid $118 to reach Haines, where they could once again connect to mainland roads, or $122.50 to go through to Skagway at the end of the line.[11][17]

She began her operational career on June 10, 1963 when she embarked 154 passengers and 45 cars at Prince Rupert.[18] The initial public response to Matanuska was positive. During her first month of commercial operation, from June 15 to July 15, she carried 6,496 passengers and 1,302 vehicles. The Alaska Marine Highway System as a whole reached its four-year forecast for passenger boardings in the first six months of operation.[19]

Ferry traffic peaked during the summer months when tourists visited Alaska, so routine maintenance on Matanuska has generally been scheduled during the winter months. For example, on January 6, 1964 she left Ketchikan for shipyards in Seattle. She stopped at Lake Union Drydock Company for the installation of additional staterooms, Todd shipyards for equipment overhauls, and back to her builder, Puget Sound Bridge and Dry Dock, for warranty work.[20] As in this 1964 maintenance interval, much of her routine maintenance during her early decades was done in Washington shipyards. As Alaska Ship and Drydock in Ketchikan became more capable, some of this work was done in-state. A $5.1 million contract for Matanuska's winter 2001 work was the largest contract ever received by the company at that time.[21]

In December of 1967 Matanuska inaugurated direct ferry service between the Lower 48 and Alaska. She completed the route between Seattle and Ketchikan in about 43 hours.[22] While the southern terminus of this route was moved to Bellingham in October 1989,[23] the Inside Passage route remains part of the Alaska Marine Highway System. Matanuska has sailed it periodically over the years including in 2020.[24]

Alaska's ships periodically failed to meet demand for lack of sufficient capacity. This was particularly true when one of them was out of service for maintenance.[25] Malaspina was lengthened in 1972 at the Willamette Iron & Steel Company in Portland Oregon to increase her capacity. In July 1977, the state of Alaska awarded a $15,228,500 contract to the same shipyard to lengthen Matanuska as well.[26] The ship was cut in two and a new midsection, 56 feet (17 m) long, was welded into the hull just ahead of the funnel. New staterooms, crew quarters, dining facilities, deckhouses, elevators and masts were added.[27][28]

In May 2018 Matanuska was taken out of service and began a major refit, including the replacement of her main engines, reduction gears, propeller shafts, shaft bearings, and variable-pitch propellers, among other items.[29] The work was done by Vigor Industrial at its Portland shipyard.[30] The refit ultimately cost $47 million and took until November 2019 to complete.[31] In January 2020, one of her new reduction gears failed and she was out of service again for more repairs.[32]

Aside from her mechanical troubles, in 2020 Matanuska and the rest of the Alaska Marine Highway System were affected by COVID-19 and by budget cuts imposed by Governor Mike Dunleavy.[33] Matanuska was scheduled to resume her mainline route from Bellingham to Skagway on July 3, 2020, but without service to the Prince Rupert terminal due to virus restrictions.[34] Service was suspended temporarily in August for crew testing when five passenger tested positive for the virus.[35]

Accidents

The waters of Southeast Alaska plied by Matanuska are complex. There are a number of narrow passages, and high tidal ranges and swift currents are the norm. This has led to a number of accidents over the years.

MV Matanuska passing the Herbert Glacier

Matanuska was passing through Sergius Narrows north of Sitka on August 31, 1963 when she scraped her port side on a submerged ledge. Damage was slight, but she was forced to sail to Seattle for a dry dock inspection and repairs. It was her captain's first trip through the narrows.[36]

On September 24, 1964 the ship hit a submerged object in Wrangell Narrows and bent three of the four blades on her starboard propeller as well as her starboard propeller shaft. She was forced to sail to Seattle on one engine for repairs.[37]

The ship was backing in to the ferry terminal in Bellingham on February 1, 1991 when some sort of mechanical failure occurred. High winds complicated maneuvering at the time of the failure. Matanuska backed into a dock, crushing it, with pieces falling on to her stern. Cars on the ferry's vehicle deck were crushed and gasoline spilled. Two passengers were injured. The ship was taken out of service briefly and underwent repairs at a Bellingham shipyard.[38]

On May 7, 2012, Matanuska collided with the dock of the Ocean Beauty Seafoods processing plant in Petersburg. Damage was extensive to the building and dock, while the ship received only "dents...above the waterline". There were no injuries either ashore or on Matanuska.[39] After an inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard, she was deemed seaworthy and continued on to other ports to pick up passengers, though two hours behind schedule. The cause of the crash was determined to be conning errors made by the master, who attempted to use a known countercurrent to slow the ship on the approach in to port.[40] However, the countercurrent was not present that day, resulting in a higher than expected approach speed. Matanuska was carrying 60 passengers at the time of the crash.[39]

References
  1. "Alaska ferry system authority is proposed in house bill today". Sitka Daily Sentinel. February 3, 1960.
  2. "Alaska Voters Supporting State System Of Ferries". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. November 22, 1960.
  3. "Survey Due On Alaska Ferry Lines". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. December 4, 1960.
  4. Burchard, Boyd (May 23, 1961). "Fast Ferry Service Planned by Alaska". Seattle Daily Times.
  5. "Seattle Firm Low On Ferry Bids". Petersburg Press. September 15, 1961.
  6. "Keel Laid for 3rd Alaska Ferry". Seattle Daily Times. July 7, 1962.
  7. "Matanuska Launched: Third Alaskan Ferry Is Christened". Seattle Daily Times.
  8. "3rd Alaska Ferry Makes Trial Run". Seattle Daily Times. May 26, 1963.
  9. "Puget Sound Shipping". Seattle Daily Times. June 7, 1963.
  10. Vessel Information Table (PDF). Alaska Marine Highway System.
  11. Leonhard, Mary (July 15, 1963). "Floating Freeways Prove Boon To Alaskan Economy". Arizona Republic.
  12. "Vessel Profile: MV Matanuska | Alaska Marine Highway System". dot.alaska.gov. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  13. M/V Matanuska Repower & Ship Systems Upgrade (PDF). Alaska Marine Highway System. 2015.
  14. "Enterprise wins contract for ferry propulsion systems". Sitka Daily Sentinel. September 1, 1961.
  15. "Big Wheel". Sitka Daily Sentinel. May 23, 1962.
  16. "Name Chosen For 3rd Alaska Ferry". Seattle Daily Times. September 4, 1962.
  17. Comfort, Helen (July 23, 1963). "Algona teacher takes motor trip to Canada and Alaska". Kossuth County Advance.
  18. "Record load on Matanuska". Sitka Daily Sentinel. June 13, 1963.
  19. "Ferries Surpass Fourth Year Estimate". Petersburg Press. July 26, 1963.
  20. "Malaspina Nears End of Repairs". Fairbanks Daily News Miner. December 31, 1963.
  21. "Ferry Upgrade Awarded to Ketchikan Yard". Sitka Daily Sentinel. September 11, 2000.
  22. "Ferry Matanuska Complete Round". Fairbanks Daily News Miner. December 19, 1967.
  23. "Bellingham rides wave of ferry excitement". Spokesman-Review. October 4, 1989.
  24. "OARS Calendar". www.dot.alaska.gov. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  25. "House to Take Action On Getting Back Wicky". Sitka Daily Sentinel. January 31, 1974.
  26. "WISCO Gets Ferry Job". Oregonian. July 30, 1977.
  27. "Matanuska Gets Facelift". Fairbanks Daily News Miner. July 25, 1978.
  28. "Willamette Awarded $15 Million To Modernize Alaska State Ferry". Maritime Reporter and Engineering News. September 1, 1977.
  29. "Legislators OK $140 Million For State Ferry System". Sitka Daily Sentinel. May 23, 2018.
  30. "Alaska Marine Highway (Alaska State Ferry)". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  31. Persily, Larry (2020-02-06). "Matanuska still out; no ferry service until March 6". The Skagway News. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  32. Petersburg, Joe Viechnicki, KFSK- (2020-03-12). "Ferry Matanuska moves to Ketchikan shipyard for repairs". KTOO. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  33. Duncan, Ian (February 24, 2020). "Steep budget cuts left Alaska with only one operating mainline ferry. Then it broke down". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  34. AMHS Cancels Service to Prince Rupert Until Further Notice (PDF). Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities. 2020.
  35. M/V Matanuska sailings canceled through 08/20 due to required COVID-19 testing for crew (PDF). Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities. 2020.
  36. "Damaged Ship Limps Ahead for Patch-Up". Spokane Chronicle. September 2, 1963.
  37. "Matanuska to Seattle for repairs". Sitka Daily Sentinel. September 28, 1964.
  38. "Ferry Matanuska Hits Fish Dock at Bellingham". Sitka Daily Sentinel. February 4, 1991.
  39. Loesch, Ron; Ashe, Suzanne (May 10, 2012). "Matanuska hits Ocean Beauty dock". Petersburg Pilot. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  40. Yanchunas, Dom. "Alaska ferry crash blamed on speed and lack of countercurrent". Professional Mariner. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
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