ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska lawmakers are considering sinking a ferry to save money.
Members of the Alaska Legislature have been considering turning the Malaspina ferry into an artificial reef, the Anchorage Daily News reported on Wednesday. The ship is one of the oldest of the state’s eight ferries.
The Malaspina has been tied up since 2019 due to a lack of funding, but it still costs the state about $ 450,000 in maintenance per year.
Sinking the ship as an artificial reef could cost anywhere from $ 500,000 to $ 1 million, but could make financial sense in the long run, said Rob Carpenter, assistant commissioner for the State Department of Transportation.
In February 2020, Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy hired a commission to investigate the ferry system and recommend general improvements.
The retired adm. Coast Guard Commission chairman Tom Barrett told members of the Senate Finance Committee that moving the state ferry system to a self-financed state-owned company is not the best solution.
“You have to keep putting money into this system if you want it to work,” Barrett said. “You will have to subsidize this for some time.”
Barrett’s commission recommended reforms to the regulation of the ferry system instead. Long-term planning has been subject to the state’s annual budget for decades.
Budget cuts have forced the ferry system to tie up ships because the state has no funds to maintain them. There is also not enough money to build ships that require less maintenance, the newspaper reported.
Legislative subcommittees are considering an increase of $ 7 million over the amount proposed by Dunleavy.
This proposal would allow more ferry services but would not address the system’s long-term problems – including falling passenger numbers, old ships and the need to serve rural, hard-to-reach communities.
Dunleavy has proposed legislation that would create a ferry service and planning board to address the issues outlined by Barrett’s commission, the Anchorage Daily News reported. A hearing in the Senate is planned for Thursday.
The Associated Press
