ALASKA MARINE HIGHWAY SYSTEM

The M/V Tustumena will not be making stops in False Pass, Akutan or Unalaska in May. An Alaska Marine Highway System spokesperson said the state ferry is undergoing a leak repair before its seasonal launch this year.

The Alaska Marine Highway System released its 2024 summer schedule, and the M/V Tustumena is scheduled to make one Aleutian chain run a month from May through September, totaling five port calls in Dutch Harbor.

$92 million of the grant will contribute to a project to replace the Tustumena. The “Rusty Tusty” is almost 60 years old. Its replacement will be the state’s first diesel-electric hybrid ferry. The state is required to match at least $23 million for this portion of the grant.

The state ferry Tustumena, which shuttles passengers between communities like Homer, the Eastern Aleutians and Unalaska, is laid up in a shipyard in Seward for repairs.

While in town, visiting representatives discussed the future of the ferry system — among other local concerns.

The Alaska Department of Transportation expects to issue a new request for proposals from American shipyards next month to replace the Tustumena.

The Alaska Marine Highway System released its summer sailing schedule Tuesday, and Unalaska will receive similar service as last year. The M/V Tustumena is the only state ferry serving the Aleutian chain, and it will make six calls in Unalaska this summer — roughly once per month from May through September.

The 300-foot ocean-class ferry Tustumena is nearly six decades old. The plan for its replacement now includes a room for housing batteries with the potential to expand.

The M/V Tustumena returns to service this week. That’s the only Alaska Marine Highway System ferry that sails between all 13 ports of call out the Aleutian Chain.The Kennicott has been the only ferry sailing to the Aleutians since the nearly 60-year-old Tusty went into the shipyard for repairs back in December.

The Alaska Marine Highway System has dropped its mask mandate, nearly two years after imposing it. The department announced the end of its mask requirement on Tuesday, the day after a federal judge struck down a directive from the Biden administration that required masks on public transportation.