Cordova council to discuss winter ferry schedule with Rep. Stutes on Monday

Cordova residents face a winter with reduced ferry service, as four Alaska Marine Highway System vessels undergo overhauls that will leave at least one ship out of commission for most of the season. The Cordova City Council takes up the system's winter 2026-27 schedule at a work session Monday at 5 p.m., with state Rep. Louise Stutes joining members at the Cordova Center. The community has no road link to the highway system, and the ferry connects it to Whittier, Valdez, Tatitlek and Chenega.

The session is a discussion, not an action item. No vote is on the agenda. The meeting takes place in Community Rooms A and B at the Cordova Center, and residents who cannot attend in person can watch or listen live on the City of Cordova YouTube channel.

The winter schedule covers sailings from Oct. 1, 2026, through April 30, 2027. Written public comment on the draft version released in July closed at 5 p.m. on July 22, and the system held a virtual hearing for the Southwest and Southcentral regions the following morning.

Winter reservations are now open on a schedule thinned by four vessel overhauls. The M/V Aurora is out of service from Oct. 1 through March 5 after crews found extensive wasted steel. The M/V Kennicott is down from Oct. 1 through Dec. 1, the M/V Columbia from Nov. 25 through April 30, and the M/V Tustumena from Jan. 15 through April 30.

Stutes represents Kodiak, Cordova, Seward and several smaller coastal communities. Monday's work session gives residents a chance to raise concerns about the schedule directly with her before the winter sailings begin.