Federal grant of $310,307 funds condition survey of Alaska's ferry fleet

The Federal Highway Administration awarded $310,307 to the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities for the AMHS FFY24-25 Fleet Condition Survey. The survey will update reports on the condition of Alaska Marine Highway System vessels and identify the work each still requires.

The survey functions as a capital-planning instrument: it identifies the improvements needed to maintain vessel class, including regulatory work under SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea), U.S. Coast Guard rules and American Bureau of Shipping standards, and attaches costs to that work. The award record lists a performance period ending March 31, 2026, with no start date; USAspending.gov postings lag awards by two to six weeks.

The survey was one of four federal transportation awards to the department. The other three, all Federal Aviation Administration money, fund 50 vehicle movement area transmitters for Fairbanks airports ($232,163), mobile PFAS sequestration in Bethel ($192,500) and a Runway 31 safety area extension in Unalaska ($3,731,677).

Alaska's 2024-2027 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program allocates $301,000,003 for the M/V Tustumena Replacement Vessel and $37,468,089 for the M/V Matanuska Safety Improvement Project.

Alaska DOT&PF identified Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors as the apparent low bidder for the Tustumena replacement at $349,996,251, about $49 million above the $301,000,003 programmed in the STIP. It is the first major AMHS vessel procurement in more than a decade. The Tustumena has been in service since 1964; a 2022 capital-improvement project put $9.4 million into the vessel to extend its service life until the replacement enters service. In August, the state announced more than $410 million in federal Rural Ferry Program awards, including $161.2 million for operations and $153.4 million to replace the M/V LeConte.

At an Aug. 10 Cordova City Council work session, Mayor Kristin Smith said of the Tustumena: "that's a tired boat. And the more money that we spend on fixing a tired boat, the more money is not going to setting aside money for maintenance and the next replacement vessel."