Nearly $350 million to replace one ferry — Alaska's lifeline to the Aleutians

Alaska is about to spend close to $350 million to replace a single ferry. That's the low bid to build a new Tustumena — the 60-year-old "Trusty Tusty" that, since 1964, has been the only marine link for a string of communities from Homer out to Dutch Harbor.

For the towns it serves — Kodiak, Chignik, Sand Point, King Cove, Cold Bay, False Pass, Akutan, Unalaska and more, most of them off the road system — the Tustumena isn't a convenience. It's the road. Built to cross open ocean to the Aleutians, it's one of the few vessels that can make the run at all, and after six decades it's overdue. Replacing it was named a top priority in the ferry system's long-range plan. "It is a lifeline that connects families, supports local economies, moves freight, and provides access to essential services," Transportation Commissioner Ryan Anderson said.

The winning number — $349,996,251, from Louisiana's Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors — is the first major vessel purchase the Alaska Marine Highway System has made in more than a decade. Gov. Mike Dunleavy called it "one of the largest investments ever made" in the system. The contract isn't final yet.

And that price tag revives a question Alaskans have raised before: should a contract this size be building Alaska's own shipyards and skilled-trades jobs, rather than a Gulf Coast one? Stakeholders in the system's planning process have argued that sending the work Outside means the state's money doesn't grow its own shipbuilding sector. The transportation department didn't address that this week.

The new ship, designed by Seattle firm Glosten, will carry more passengers and vehicles, run faster, and burn less fuel — a real upgrade for a route that needs one, and it's slated for 2029. Whether $350 million spent outside Alaska is the best way to get there is the part the celebration leaves out.