|
Post by Name Omitted on Mar 19, 2022 23:18:35 GMT -8
It may be a pipe dream, but if they are serious about turning it into a museum and marine training facility, the sale price - $1! As nice as a museum may be, I think the State of Alaska is really in a long-term crisis mode about fixing/rebuilding their entire system. I'm having a real hard time believing the good folks of Alaska are allowing the disintegration of their ferry system to continue in real time. Blame some of this on the 'Jones Act', so..... We... we're kind of not in the crisis mode anymore. We're being hindered by political sabotage. There are vandals at the helm that are trying to trash the system, but the reality is that the latest infostructure bill is going to give us 3 or 4 ships. With that kind of pledged capital, we have the ability to go from dead idle to building very quickly. We just need to get rid of the governor. Stay tuned to the upcoming elections.
|
|
|
Post by ancflyer on Mar 26, 2022 2:58:04 GMT -8
It may be a pipe dream, but if they are serious about turning it into a museum and marine training facility, the sale price - $1! As nice as a museum may be, I think the State of Alaska is really in a long-term crisis mode about fixing/rebuilding their entire system. I'm having a real hard time believing the good folks of Alaska are allowing the disintegration of their ferry system to continue in real time. Blame some of this on the 'Jones Act', so..... As am I. Having grown up in Skagway and watched the birth of the AMHS (Chilkat included) I am dismayed at the citizens - particularly in SE - at the ignored dismantling of what I consider to be a very integral and necessary part of Alaska's transportation system. I'll give 'em that the cost of ferry travel is extraordinarily high. Hence the millions of $$$ in subsidies Alaska has given the ferry system. I'll also buy into the need to relieve Alaska (and probably the rest of the US) of the crippling 'Jones Act'. But I'm appalled at the lack of citizen support for this vital 'road' link to Alaskans. I have watched the AMHS disintegrate over the years because of political pandering, lack of foresight, and hampering legislation. I'm particularly frustrated at the purchase of, and sale of, the Fast Ferries and maintain they had no place in Alaskan waters - I've so stated in other posts here. I also frustrated regarding Tazlina and Hubbard in that they have been in the water for a number of years and only recently started revenue service . . . because no one looked at the shoreside infrastructure when they designed the ships. So that's my rant. I'm no seaman, nor an employee of the AMHS, just a simple citizen (retired soldier and cop) that has a penchant for the ferries. Concur about crisis mode on the part of the government. Please see my aforementioned comments on political pandering, lack of foresight and hampering legislation.
|
|
|
Post by Name Omitted on Mar 28, 2022 21:27:13 GMT -8
The shoreside structure was discussed extensively in the documents that lead to the design of the ships. The placement of the elevators is set to shift the car lanes to match the Auk Bay terminal, since the ACF is wider than the berth, and would not dock with the ramp on centerline. Despite the current administration lying about the inability to use a side berth, the ships DO have a side door, in in the aft. The ships were designed to match a new nose-in berth in Haines, because the operational efficiency of a nose-in berth with no turns for the drivers to get vehicles off the ship would allow for a short turnaround in Haines, and a round trip from Auke Bay - Haines - Auke Bay in a single dayboat shift. Meanwhile, the nose-in birth at Haines and the stern side-door in Skagway would amount to a longer time in Skagway, but still a fairly easy 8-hour shift. Meanwhile, by moving the side door aft the ships could do without sponsons, improving the sea-keeping abilities. The ships are well designed. DOT ran into some trouble with an ACOE permit for the Haines port which delayed things through the Walker administration, and the Dunleavy administration is wed to the idea of a completely new Berner's Bay terminal instead of working with ACOE to come up with a solution at Haines, so they lie about the capabilities of the ships, and the in-state media can't be arsed to look into the public documents that describe how we got here.
|
|
|
Post by ancflyer on Jun 2, 2022 2:10:07 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by articulated on Nov 21, 2022 19:22:30 GMT -8
I made a 5-week road trip to and through Alaska back in the summer, which of course included some ferry action. Pretty much the primary excuse for me to visit Ketchikan was to see the recently-retired-for-official Malaspina tied up in Wards Cove. There's not many great viewing spots around the cove that are publicly accessible (at least those accessible by foot and without trespassing), so a pair of dock-side shots will have to do. I do hope that she will go onto having a wonderful post-career life in Ketchikan. AMHS Malaspina by Andrew Crawford, on Flickr AMHS Malaspina by Andrew Crawford, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by trainguru on Dec 2, 2023 13:17:20 GMT -8
What's the progress of the Malaspina project? Further, what condition was she in when sold by AMHS (hull, car deck superstructure, et cetera.)? Was she stripped in the engine room or what? I'm trying to get a better understanding of her condition when sold and now.
|
|