By Steve Williams

Work to stabilize and eventually float the state ferry LeConte off a Peril Strait reef continued Wednesday night.

The 235-foot Alaska Marine Highway vessel grounded about 10 a.m. Monday on Cozian Reef during a run from Angoon to Sitka.

The ship sustained extensive hull damage, took on water in five bow compartments, and is in danger of sinking, ferry officials said.

Its 86 passengers and 23 crew members evacuated shortly after the accident Monday.

Luggage was removed Tuesday and taken to Sitka. Salvage workers Wednesday were figuring out how to remove the 15 cars still on board, according to marine highway spokesperson Nona Wilson.

"We had planned to off load this morning, but we were delayed. Yesterday we were able to get the luggage off, and (Thursday) we hope to start on the cars."

Wilson said the vehicles likely will be loaded off the ship’s stern ramp onto a barge. A team assigned to remove more than 26,000 gallons of fuel from the ship’s tanks was set to begin work today, she said.

It’s part of the process of righting and refloating the hard-aground ship, which salvage officials said would sink if allowed to slip off the reef.

Divers Tuesday found extensive damage to the hull and bow of the LeConte, including a pair of 40-foot gashes four to 12 inches wide under the port side and one-to-two-feet wide on the starboard side. A third rip penetrated the ship’s double hull under the engine room.

Wilson said the plan is to get the ship off the reef and to Ketchikan for repairs as soon as it’s safe. The forecast for the area calls for blue skies and calm seas for the next 72 hours.

"Sunset isn’t until 9:15 p.m. tonight, so we’re getting lots of daylight. We’d like to move it now but we can’t. The ship needs to be repaired to float and repaired to be towed."

Wilson said the extent of repairs needed to get the ship back in service won’t be known until a more thorough inspection is done. "We don’t know yet. We’d like to repair it, because it’s worth $33 million. So we’re going to do everything we can to repair the ship. If we can’t then we’ll look at other options."

The U.S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board are each conducting investigations into the cause of the grounding.

Bridge personnel at the grounding, Capt. Harvey Williamson, Chief Mate William Petrich, Seaman Rick Burroughs and 1st Assistant Engineer Jeffery Meeham, each tested negative for alcohol. Drug test results won't be available for two weeks, the Coast Guard reported.

Ferry terminal employees in Haines were instructed to take no more reservations for the LeConte’s 13 scheduled Lynn Canal sailings this summer.

LeConte summer 2004 sailings on the AMHS website have been cancelled.