JUNEAU -- Following complaints that the ferry being built to replace the aged Tustumena would be too big for Kodiak's cramped harbor, the vessel has been redesigned. But the new plan from the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has the vessel lengthened by 5 feet.
It will be the stern, not the bow, that will be lengthened, said DOT spokesman Jeremy Woodrow. That should limit the impact on neighbors along the crowded waterfront, he said.
But some in Kodiak are saying the change surprises them, and that an even longer vessel will be a problem no matter which end is lengthened.
Kodiak harbormaster Lon White raised that concern before the Marine Transportation Advisory Board in June when the first ferry design was made public, and he said Tuesday he was surprised by the proposal for a longer ferry.
We had "a concern that the new ferry length proposed in June was more than likely going to cause considerable conflicts with the adjacent private businesses," White said. "Adding another five feet, on either end, only exacerbates the problem."
The 50-year-old, 296-foot Tustumena is one of the oldest vessels in the Alaska Marine Highway System fleet, joining it in 1964. That's a year after original vessels Matanuska, Malaspina and Taku, but it has had a much harder life in the harsh waters of the Gulf of Alaska and regular runs out the Aleutian chain.
It is one of two ocean-capable ferries in the AMHS fleet, along with the much larger Kennicott.
The state is now planning to spend $237 million to replace the Tustumena but is trying to design a vessel big enough to handle rough seas with adequate capacity for passengers and vehicles, while being small enough to serve several cramped ports.
DOT's Woodrow says the new design is intended to balance those concerns.
"You just can't build a vessel the size of the Kennicott and call at all the ports in the Aleutian chain -- 330 feet tends to be right where that sweet spot is," he said.
"It was 325 feet before, and then they lengthened it by an additional five feet," Woodrow said.
"The main reason was to accommodate a larger loading elevator in the stern, to accommodate larger size vehicles," he said.
Those larger vehicles are mostly cargo vans, he said. A bigger elevator meant a longer vessel so as to not cut into deck space for vehicles, he said.
Despite the local concerns, Woodrow said the larger stern doesn't appear to be a problem.
"When the vessel moors at the new Pier 1 facility (in Kodiak) the bow won't extend over the end of that facility any further than it already does," he said.
Trident Seafood Kodiak Plant Manager Paul Lumsden said Tuesday that he hadn't yet seen the plans that were released that afternoon, but was surprised to hear that a longer vessel wouldn't affect vessels maneuvering to tie up at his dock.
"That doesn't make sense, because the stern is tied flush with the end of the dock, so even if it is just the stern that lengthened, it will have to be farther forward, which will put the bow over my dock," he said.
Lumsden said the ferry dock is being rebuilt, but the structure won't change. AMHS project managers have been in touch with him about other aspects of the dock construction project but not about the ferry design, he said.
Harbormaster White said Kodiak harbor is just too small for what AMHS is proposing.
"We don't believe they should be trying to accommodate a larger ferry at that location," he said.
Woodrow said the new ferry will also be 2 feet wider and draw more water, but there have been no concerns raised about those issues. It will have an additional half-deck available to passengers and more staterooms to meet expected higher demand. Despite the state's consideration of alternative fuels, it will have traditional diesel engines, he said.
Public comment on the new design will be open until Jan. 9, and the plans can be viewed and comments made at the Alaska Marine Highway website.