The state ferry Columbia, the largest vessel in the fleet, has been delayed a second time coming back to work on the busy summer route between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast Alaska.

The ship is now scheduled to make its first northbound run from Bellingham on June 5, according to the Alaska Marine Highway System’s online reservations site.

The state will keep the Kennicott on the route until the Columbia is ready to go back into service.

When the Columbia returns, the Kennicott will tie up at the dock in Ketchikan. The Marine Highway System — for the fourth year in a row — says it lacks enough crew to run both vessels during the busy summer season.

As of May 4, the online reservations system showed no availability on the Columbia until the July 24 northbound sailing for a traveler who wanted to take their car or truck or RV from Bellingham to Wrangell.

The Columbia, which has served the popular route since going into service in 1973, has about twice the vehicle deck space as the smaller Kennicott.

In November, the Columbia went into the shipyard in Ketchikan for winter layup and annual maintenance. It originally had been expected back on the route May 6. That date was first pushed back to May 20.

The latest delay to June 5 is due to a couple of reasons, said Gabe Strong, public information officer for the Alaska Marine Highway System.

“The dry docking of the Columbia was delayed because the Lituya had to have the bow repaired. … The Lituya took the Columbia’s scheduled dry dock time and that set the Columbia work back a couple weeks,” Strong said in an email on April 30.

“Luckily, we had the Kennicott available to take over the mainline run for the Columbia.”

The Lituya, which shuttles between Ketchikan and Metlakatla, was damaged when it ran aground after leaving the Metlakatla dock in late December 2025 and spent much of March at the Ketchikan shipyard for repairs.

In addition to losing time in the dry dock, the other reason for the Columbia’s delayed return to service was mechanical.

“During the Columbia bow thruster overhaul, it was discovered that the shaft that drives the turbine had saltwater intrusion, so the shaft was sent south to get flame-sprayed and re-machined,” Strong said.

A single turbine powers the bow thruster, which aids in the ship’s maneuverability. “It’s an omni-thruster that sucks water in from the sides and shoots it out the displacer plate on the keel of the vessel,” he explained.