While planning and hoping for as much as $2 billion to replace its shrinking fleet of older ships over the next 20 years, the Alaska Marine Highway System also is looking at smaller things it can do to improve service in the near term.
That will include Wi-Fi service on the ships; possibly more offerings or expanded bars; maybe even putting gift shops on the vessels.
Federal money will pay for installing Wi-Fi. Increased bar service and possible gift shops will depend on whether the state ferry system can cover the costs, said Sam Dapcevich, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Transportation.
The state expects the Wi-Fi service will be up and running aboard the Columbia when the ferry comes back to work in mid-December after a yearlong layup. The ferry system will use Starlink’s satellite-based service, which already is available for crew and the ship’s operating systems and which will be extended throughout the vessel for passengers to use, Dapcevich said.
The Marine Highway System this year received $177 million in federal aid for multiple projects, including adding to the pool of money for replacing the 60-year-old Tustumena, which serves Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands ports. Of that federal money, $5 million will go toward installing Wi-Fi on the ships. Dapcevich said the department estimates that will be enough to add the service to the entire fleet.
“It requires adding access points throughout the vessel — you can’t just drop one router on top and everybody has service,” Dapcevich said.
“So, that’ll take some time to wire everything in, and it would need to be firewalled from operations,” he added.
“During the beta stage (aboard the Columbia) it will be free to users. Eventually, the service will likely be similar to the paid Wi-Fi service on Alaska Airlines,” he said. The fee has not been determined.
Any expansion of bar services or bringing back gift shops will take longer. The Department of Transportation is seeking proposals for a gift shop merchandising and marketing consultant, with bids due Nov. 13.
Dapcevich said ferry system management also is “talking to the Alaska Railroad about how they handle merchandising.” The state-owned railroad, with gift sales on board the trains and online, carried more than half-a-million passengers last year along its route from Seward to Anchorage and north to Fairbanks, about three times as many as the state ferry system.
The Marine Highway System is considering merchandise sales aboard ships, in terminals and online, he said.
“Past accounting figures showed the bars and gift shops operating at a loss, but we’re exploring new possibilities to generate revenue,” he said. “We do see the potential for revenue from merchandising, as long as it doesn’t require a larger increase in labor costs.”
Currently, the Columbia, Kennicott, Hubbard, Tazlina and Tustumena sell beer, wine and mixed drinks in cans.
Any change or expansion in the alcoholic beverage offerings is a ways off. “Just like the gift shops, we’re in the exploration stage regarding how this will look,” Dapcevich said.