Alaska ferry system closes Skagway port indefinitely over dock damage

Ferry service to and from Skagway is suspended for the foreseeable future, and the state has not said when it will resume.

The notice appears as a single service alert on the ferry system's website, still posted unchanged on Saturday, Aug. 15. "Due to major structural damage at the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) docking facility in Skagway, the Skagway port is closed until further notice. All ferry service to and from Skagway is suspended for the foreseeable future," the alert says. It names no part of the facility, describes no cause and carries no date. On repairs, it says only that "An estimated timetable for structural repairs will be shared as soon as damage assessments are complete."

Passengers holding reservations are not being asked to act on their own. The alert says terminal agents are contacting those travelers about refunds, alternative travel and rerouting. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has issued no press release on the closure. Its 2026 newsroom index lists 22 releases through Aug. 5, and none names Skagway or a terminal closure.

Skagway is the northern terminus of the Southeast ferry system and a scheduled port on Lynn Canal alongside Haines and Juneau. A 2016 DOT&PF structural condition report on the Skagway terminal identified cracked collars, failed welds and corrosion, and recommended replacement of swivel beams and investigation of concrete float repairs. A July 20 DOT&PF advertising-schedule update noted that a planned Skagway terminal anchor-chain replacement was still awaiting Federal Highway Administration funding approval; nothing in the public record ties that pending project to the structural damage now closing the port.

No Skagway resident, business, borough official or engineer appears in the public record of the closure. The state's entire published account is the undated alert.