SitNews - MV Taku Northbound Sailing Cancelled due to Boiler

SitNews - Stories in the News - Ketchikan, Alaska

MV Taku Northbound Sailing Cancelled due to Boiler
Will Pick Up Southbound Schedule to Prince Rupert Sunday Morning

December 02, 2005
Friday

Ketchikan, Alaska - The Alaska Marine Highway System announced today that the northbound sailing of the MV Taku has been cancelled due to its inoperative boiler. The Taku had been scheduled to depart Ketchikan Thursday afternoon for Skagway, with intermediate stops at Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau, and Haines. Its normal schedule would have it returning to Ketchikan by Saturday night. It is the intention of AMHS to have the vessel back in service in time to sail southbound to Prince Rupert on schedule at 2 a.m. Sunday.

Workers at Alaska Ship and Drydock have so far been unable to determine why the boiler, which provides heat and hot water throughout the vessel, stopped working on Thursday while the Taku was en route to Ketchikan.

Capt. John Falvey, general manager of AMHS, said reservations personnel would work to place travelers on other ferries.

"We hope to accommodate everyone who is inconvenienced by the breakdown," Falvey said. "For those who need to travel from other Southeast communities southbound to Ketchikan to catch the Taku for Prince Rupert, we plan to have them on the Fairweather and Chenega. "

Falvey said travelers previously booked on the Taku between now and Sunday should call the AMHS reservations number at 800-642-0066.