Southeast would go a week without mainline ferry service at the end of November as the Alaska Marine Highway System transitions between ships for its winter schedule.

But seven days without the weekly northbound and southbound return voyage between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast is painless when compared to much longer service gaps in Prince William Sound and Southwest Alaska under the draft fall and winter schedule.

Cordova and Valdez would be left without any ferry service for five months Oct. 1 through March 5 while the Aurora is in the shop for its annual winter maintenance — a much longer time than usual.

“Due to the recent discovery of extensive wasted steel during maintenance, the Aurora will undergo an extended overhaul period,” the Department of Transportation said in a press release on July 8.

Kodiak, Homer and other towns on the Gulf of Alaska would go without service for almost four months — Jan. 15 through May 1 — as the Tustumena heads into the shipyard for winter work.

The state ferry system has always used the winter months, when ridership is lower, to pull ships out of service for annual maintenance, but a lack of crew and fewer ships in operating condition have led to longer gaps in fall, winter and spring service.

The ferries have been plagued by crew shortages for several years, and hiring efforts have come up short.

The Marine Highway System released its draft fall and winter schedule for public comment last week. The schedule covers sailings from Oct. 1 to April 30. Comments can be submitted by 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 22, to [email protected] or faxed to 907-228-6873. 

Under the draft schedule, the Bellingham-to-Southeast run would stop in Wrangell northbound every Sunday, with a return southbound stop every Wednesday — that’s been the schedule for years.

There would be a week of no service when the Columbia heads to the shipyard at the end of November. It would take a week for the Kennicott to be staffed and readied to pick up the mainline route, according to a spokesman for the Marine Highway System.

The Kennicott is scheduled for its own winter maintenance Oct. 1 through Dec. 1, and any delay in getting the ship back to work would require keeping the Columbia on the job longer or going without service to Southeast.

Overall ferry system ridership is down more than half since its peak in the early 1990s, with even steeper drops in some communities.