August 20, 2007
Monday

Ketchikan, Alaska - The Marine Vessel Columbia, which lost its starboard engine last Monday, will now be out for the remainder of the Summer 2007 season, the Alaska Marine Highway System announced. The decision was made to send the vessel into a scheduled overhaul period one month early due to the lack of availability of key parts required to affect a repair.

"This is obviously a tough decision for us in that the summer season is an important revenue generating period and the Columbia, being on the Bellingham run, is a big part of those revenues," said AMHS General Manager John Falvey.

The Columbia was originally scheduled to enter a federal overhaul on Sept. 23rd and would have been in revenue service up until that date. Last Monday, a piston rod in the starboard engine failed causing the engine to be shut down. The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) has a replacement rod for the engine, but new bearings would also have to be specially manufactured and those require up to five weeks to complete.

The Columbia will sit in Ketchikan until August 27th when it will begin transiting to a shipyard for its overhaul. The shipyard will be chosen through the state's normal bidding process.

The AMHS is attempting to accommodate customers with prior reservations on the Columbia through the four other ships that currently travel outside of Alaska. Customers with prior reservations on the Columbia are being asked to stay in contact with their closest AMHS terminal or call (800) 642-0066 for updates.

Source of News:

Alaska Department of Transportation
www.dot.state.ak.us

 

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