New shuttle ferry plans were roundly criticized during a legislative hearing Tuesday, though there was some support.
The plan calls for building a pair of 280-foot, 300-passenger, 53-vehicle vessels.
The day-boats would connect Juneau, Haines and Skagway, operate no more than 12 hours a day, and have no staterooms or cafeteria. No unaccompanied vehicles would be allowed.
Some of the testimony before the House and Senate Finance Committees criticized plans to leave part of the car deck uncovered:
Ferry officials said the design is preliminary and changes will likely be made. For example, they’re considering a system for allowing unaccompanied vehicles, including container vans, on board.
Fairweather crew members and shore staff get ready to tie up the fast ferry at Sitka’s terminal. The ship will resume service after inspection that delayed its first 2013 run by two weeks. Photo by Ed Schoenfeld.
The fast ferry Fairweather is returning to Southeast service a little later than expected. It had been scheduled to make its first 2013 sailing Feb. 28th. Instead, the Juneau-based ship will resume runs to Sitka, Haines and Skagway on March 14.
Marine Highway General Manager John Falvey says the Fairweather and its sister ship the Chenega needed detailed inspections before they could return to service this year.
“We had actually lost the operating certificates because of questions about the cylinders and the engines and whatnot,” he says.
Inspections are conducted by an international risk-management firm called DNV.
Engines on both ships had shown premature damage. (Scroll down for links to earlier reports.)
“We provided DNV-Oslo, Norway, with a lot of data regarding the current condition of the cylinders. We did a lot of ultrasound testing and DNV came to the conclusion that, for this season anyhow, both vessels would be safe to operate, and we’re going to go ahead and do so,” Falvey says.
Repair crews have bored out engine cylinders and inserted sleeves to keep them operating.
Falvey says too many repairs can weaken the lightweight engines.
A dedication plaque posted inside the fast ferry documents completion of the Fairweather’s hull.
“You need to be very careful that there is still enough metal and steel in those cylinder blocks so that you won’t have an accident with a piston potentially coming out the side of the engine,” he says.
“And we’re very confident that that will not happen, and DNV is very confident of that and so am I.”
The Chenega, a younger ship, returned to Prince William Sound service on schedule last month. It sails from Cordova to Valdez and Whittier.
The Fairweather was delayed because one engine was left unassembled. Falvey says that’s because the inspectors might have wanted additional testing. Reassembly and other work slowed the return to service.
The state last week announced a legal settlement with the manufacturers giving each ship a complete set of new engines.
The Fairweather will sail four days a week through June, splitting its time between the Juneau-Sitka run and the Juneau-Haines-Skagway sailing. In July, it increases service to seven days a week. It runs to Sitka six days a week and Petersburg one day a week.
Both fast ferries carry up to 250 passengers and 36 vehicles.
One person is dead and two are injured after a backcountry skiing accident near Haines on Sunday.
The Haines Police Department received an ambulance call Sunday afternoon to the Haines Airport where a helicopter brought an injured skier. The skier was transported to the Haines clinic where he was pronounced dead. Two injured skiers were also brought to the clinic. Haines police notified Alaska State Troopers, who is the lead investigating agency on the incident. A trooper arrived in Haines from Juneau on Monday, according to trooper spokesperson Megan Peters.
“He’s been trying to do interviews; he was able to fly over the area to see it. He has a couple more interviews lined up before he leaves town and has to get back to Juneau,” Peters says.
Troopers identified the deceased as 34-year-old Christian Cabanilla of Haines.
Cabanilla is a guide with Haines heliski company Southeast Alaska Backcountry Adventures. But company owner, Scott Sundberg, said Monday Cabanilla was skiing recreationally with a group of skiers, and he was not the official guide of the group.
Sundberg said the two injured skiers were in stable condition on Monday. Both were medevaced to Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau and one of the skiers was later sent to the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The group of five was skiing as part of a commercial tour with the company just west of Haines when the incident occurred, according to Sundberg. He said reports indicate the incident might have been caused by a massive cornice failure, but not an avalanche. Troopers’ preliminary findings are similar, Peters said.
“And from what it sounds like, they were traversing an area and snow collapsed from under them, but I don’t know how far the fall was,” Peters says.
Unconfirmed reports describe a fourth member of ski group escaped injury when he deployed an inflatable airbag he was wearing. A fifth member was not involved in the fall.
Cabanilla’s biography on the company’s website says he is an international backcountry snowboard guide working in Alaska, Chilean Patagonia and Antarctica with more than a decade of experience in the Alaska heli-ski industry. It says he is also a commercial helicopter pilot in Alaska. He is originally from Vasalia, Calif.
This is Haines third heliskiing fatality in two years. Last year a guide and skier were killed in a March avalanche while skiing with a different company.
Original Story: March 3 at 11:16 p.m.
One person is dead and two are injured after a backcountry skiing accident near Haines on Sunday.
Alaska State Trooper spokesperson Megan Peters said troopers received a call from Haines Police on Sunday afternoon about an accident in the backcountry, although she didn’t know the exact location.
The Haines trooper is out of town on a patrol and wasn’t able to respond immediately. A trooper will arrive in Haines from Juneau on Monday to conduct an investigation, Peters said. Haines Police had no comment and referred questions to the troopers.
The deceased was identified by troopers as Christian Cabainilla. He is listed as a guide for the local heliskiing company, Southeast Alaska Backcountry Adventures, on its website. The company did not respond to messages on Sunday evening.
Cabainilla’s biography on the company’s website says he is an international backcountry snowboard guide working in Alaska, Chilean Patagonia and Antarctica with more than a decade of experience in the Alaska heli-ski industry. It says he is also a commercial helicopter pilot in Alaska.
Trooper spokeswoman Peters said she did not have any information on what caused the death and injuries or whether an avalanche had occurred. She said the two injured skiers had non-life-threatening injuries. Two medevac planes were seen arriving and leaving Haines on Sunday afternoon.
Peter’s said by the time the troopers received the call, everyone involved was already out of the field and in Haines receiving medical treatment.
This is Haines third heliskiing fatality in two years. Last year a guide and skier were killed in a March avalanche while skiing with a different company.
Ed Thomas, president of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, addresses Southeast Conference members in Juneau Feb. 26. Photo by Ed Schoenfeld.
An influential Southeast Alaska tribal leader says he supports banning assault weapons.
Tlingit-Haida Central Council President Ed Thomas says the proposed ban should not be considered a gun-rights issue.
“We have been subsistence people from the beginning of time. And when guns came to our area, it (became) a very vital part of our subsistence way of life. We’re strong advocates for the second amendment rights,” Thomas says. “But we are not in favor of continuing the utilization of assault weapons in our society. There’s no need for it if you’re a hunter or a fisher.”
The central council is a tribal government organization that operates a vocational training center, family- and elder-support services, and a tribal court.
Thomas made his comments Feb. 26th during an address to the Southeast Conference. That’s a regional organization of business, government and tribal leaders.
He says there is no reason automatic weapons should be in general use.
“Think about why do they not allow assault weapons in the halls of Congress. How come they’re not allowed on airplanes? We’ve learned that when you have those kinds of things in important places, people get goofy,” he says.
Thomas has served as council president for about 25 years.
Governor Sean Parnell signed a bill Thursday limiting cruise-ship wastewater restrictions.
House Bill 80 turned back a provision of the Cruise Ship Initiative, passed by voters in 2006. The provision would have required ships to meet much higher standards, starting in 2015.
The new law says pollutants can be measured in mixing zones, which allow dilution. The initiative required it to be measured at the point of discharge.
Parnell asked for the bill to be introduced. It took effect today.
Press Secretary Sharon Leighow says the governor signed the bill in his office without ceremony.
Some lawmakers and Marine Transportation Advisory Board members are questioning plans for a pair of shuttle ferries that will provide service in northern Southeast Alaska.
Ferry officials released preliminary descriptions and drawings earlier this week. They described identical, 280-foot, 300-passenger, 53-vehicle day boats that would serve Juneau, Haines and Skagway.
The plan went before a joint meeting of the House and Senate Transportation Committees today.
Juneau Senator Dennis Egan asked Deputy Transportation Commissioner Reuben Yost about two of the most common concerns –harsh storms and a partially open car deck.
“What happens when that ship has to turn around and the spray comes into the open stern? That really worries me,” Egan asked.
This drawing from the shuttle concept design document compares the proposed vessel with other AMHS ferries. Image courtesy Coastwise Corp.
“You’re talking about a fairly extreme situation. … The turnaround situations with the LeConte are primarily because of the ice spray freezing on the … lifeboats. They don’t threaten the stability of the ship. They threaten the ability to launch if there is a crisis with the ship for other reasons,” Yost answered.
He told legislators the state expects the ships can be built for the $117 million remaining for design and construction.
Wrangell Representative Peggy Wilson asked whether that included terminal modifications.
“For the adjustments to the harbor itself where they have to make adjustments for the … roll-on, roll-off? Is that included in here?” Wilson asked.
“This is just vessel costs and project development costs. There will be required end berths, probably bow berths, in Haines. We estimate that cost now at $20 million. So that’s an additional cost,” Yost answered.
He said the terminal would be eligible for federal funding. Ship construction will not, because officials plan to give a preference to in-state shipyards.
Several lawmakers questioned the shuttle’s safety and passenger comfort level in rough weather.
Chickaloon Representative Eric Feige said the design could cut down on schedule flexibility.
“This is going to really limit the usage of these ships. So these ships are just going to be Lynn Canal only. You’re not going to be able to divert them if you have a need elsewhere in the fleet?” Feige asked.
“We have shown, at least schedule-wise, that this vessel can go to Hoonah, to Angoon, to Gustavus and to Tenakee. And we’ve shown for extended voyages where we have to fill in in an emergency situation going to Sitka, and then housing the crew overnight on shore. This vessel would be designed for those weather conditions as well,” Yost answered.
Yost and Falvey also presented shuttle plans to the state’s Marine Transportation Advisory Committee.
There was no time for discussion or questions. But afterward, member Mike Korsmo, a Skagway tugboat captain, said he worried about freight capacity.
“They’re saying right in the report that you can’t put a car on and have somebody pick it up on the other end,” Korsmo said. “Well, the freight comes that way to Skagway quite a bit, where a tractor comes down, grabs the container and takes it off. And that’s where most of our store supplies come (from).”
The two-shuttle plan replaces an earlier effort to build a larger ferry with more amenities.
Juneau Chamber of Commerce CEO and advisory board member Cathie Roemmich said that became too big and expensive.
“Now we see something that I believe is within our grasp. And I hope the governor and DOT move forward with it, and we don’t pause or take too much time arguing whether it’s the right thing or the wrong thing,” Roemmich said. “I think these vessels will be a great addition to the Alaska Marine Highway.”
The change in plans, announced late last year, was made without input from the advisory board or lawmakers. That offended many of those involved.
Board Chairman Robert Venables said the panel is now in the loop and will make sure the public has a voice.
“There is going to be a path forward to receive input from outside DOT into the process of building this next generation,” Venables said.
Public testimony is on the agenda for future ferry advisory board and transportation committee meetings.
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