There’s enough funds in the budget of the state ferry system to operate seven vessels this summer, however it’s not clear how long they’ll be able to operate them. Alaska Marine Highway System will be able to manage the vessels with enough staff. these vessels.
The marine director of the ferry system, Craig Tornga, said in an interview that the seventh ferry will be the Kennicott which will be serving the Gulf crossings that connect Whittier and Southeast Alaska and the community of Yakutat that hasn’t had an arrival since the summer of 2022.
In recent years the shortage of crew members has caused the ferry system to reduce their schedule. The question is, will there be enough deckhands, stewards captains, and engineers to operate all seven ferry lines?
The ferry company has made progress in growing the ranks, particularly at entry-level jobs, Tornga stated. However, it’s not clear how much it will take for a full-time schedule.
“We’re struggling right now with the crewing of our vessel,” the captain said. “But we’re fortunate, because you know we have plans with hopes, to ensure that we will be operating an additional vessel in the summer season dependent on the crewing. The budget is in support of the idea.”
The Kennicott has been scheduled to remain on the ground for the duration of summer in the event of a crew. It would mean the same schedule as the previous summer.
At a board for operations of ferry meeting on December. 1 Tornga stated that the ferry company has hired 42 crew members and lost 19 in the span of four months. However, Tornga states that the ferry system is struggling to recruit U.S. Coast Guard-certified mates and, in particular engineers.
Due to the requirement that licensed mariners spend significant amount of time in the marine, “those are hard to obtain,” he said.
This has been a major issue all across the nation. In the year 2000, Washington State Ferries said they were facing massive staff shortages. It’s not just passengers on vessels, but the U.S. Navy along with the Coast Guard are also short on sailors.
“Everybody’s small, and that’s why we’re all competing,” he said.
Tornga says he requires around 30 licensed engineers, ranging from Oilers all the way to Chief Engineers. His top priority is to educate engineers at the lower levels to fill the vacancies.
“We are working to construct an underground pipeline in that area. The entry point there is wipers. We’ve got many wipers, but we must continue to provide them with training to take their next certification. Keep taking them to higher levels.
It’s more complicated when it comes to the bridge. A brand-new captain or mate isn’t able to just walk in and begin driving. Even if they’re licensed, it may take many years for new crew members to receive state-mandated licenses which allow them to travel the fjords and narrows along Alaska’s coastline.
Tornga told us they’re looking at something different, the pipeline is being run in reverse.
“We have reached an agreement with some retired people to join us to assist us in this phase,” he said. “That’s been greatly appreciated, since they’re with full pilotage and they’ve been a great help in some of the areas that we’re currently short.”
In the first week of December Tornga announced that seven retirees who were from the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots had formally agreed to re-enlist in the military.
Tornga reported that a decision made earlier in the year centralize the processing of payroll for ferry employees will also benefit. This was in response to the complaints of employees over mistakes in their pay checks.
“That’s not the issue it was. We haven’t yet cleaned out the backlog, and there’s some of it but they’re doing an excellent work trying to clear that backlog in the meanwhile they’re working on payroll,” Tornga said.
Tornga claims he’s also been pushed to speed up processing of new employees, specifically for those who are licensed.
Tornga stated that the ferry company is looking to increase its number of Alaska high school students who are pursuing careers in the maritime industry.
“Those aren’t going to benefit us now but they’ll be helpful in the future, because we’ve found that local employees tend to stay longer than out-of-state employees,” he said.
Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak an advocate for many years in favor of the highway for marine vehicles stated that crewing is a hard piece of cake to break.
“It’s very difficult to do that for us to do it when, in our business within the State, we’re paying around 30% to 40 percent less than what the private sector is paying. It’s difficult to form a crew under these conditions,” Stutes said by phone.
Stutes declared that she’s convinced that ferry management is doing their best in the current circumstances.
The Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau spoke on a telephone call that he was pleased by the ferry’s efforts to build a pipeline for the future.
“I believe that the leadership team is on the right track in attempting to grow from within and expand our own knowledge within our fleet of vehicles,” He said.
As lawmakers approved funding up to 2024’s end in the previous legislative session the governor. Mike Dunleavy’s budget plan that was released earlier in the month could provide a similar level of service for 2025 if it’s approved through the Legislature.
