MV Matanuska
 MV Matanuska
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| malformed flag imageUnited States | |
| Name | M/V Matanuska |
| Namesake | Matanuska Glacier, Chugach Mountains |
| Owner |  Alaska Marine Highway System |
| Operator | Alaska Marine Highway |
| Port of registry |  United States |
| Builder | Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock, Seattle, Washington |
| Yard number | 114 |
| Launched | 1963[2] |
| Refit | 1978[3] |
| Homeport | Haines, Alaska |
| Status | in active service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Malaspina-class mainline ferry |
| Tonnage | 3,029 Domestic, 9,214 International[2] |
| Displacement | 5,569 long tons (5,658 t)[2] |
| Length | 408 ft (124 m)[2] |
| Beam | 74 ft (23 m)[2] |
| Draft | 16 ft 11.63 in (5.1722 m)[2] |
| Decks | One vehicle deck, three passenger decks[4] |
| Ramps | Aft, port, and starboard ro-ro loading |
| Installed power | Two 3,620 HP MaK diesel engines[4] |
| Propulsion | 7,200 hp (5,369 kW)[2] |
| Speed | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)[2] |
| Capacity | list error: <br /> list (help) 499 passengers 88 vehicles[2] |
| Crew | 50[2] |
MV Matanuska, colloquially known as the Mat, is a mainline Malaspina-class ferry vessel for the Alaska Marine Highway System.
History
In 1959, as Alaska became a state, voters approved $18 Million dollars in bonds to build its Marine Highway and associated harbor facilities.[5] Philip F. Spaulding & Associates, was given the contract to design 4 vessels.[6] Three of these ships would dramatically expand service to south-east Alaska, and a fourth ship initiated service to south-central Alaska and the Aleutian chain. The third of the south-east sister ships built was the Matanuska constructed in 1963 by Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock in Seattle, Washington.[3] The Matanuska was lengthened by 56 feet in 1978 at the Willamette Iron & Shipbuilding Company in Portland Oregon.[3]
In June of 2012, the MV Matanuska will have served the AMHS over fifty years.
Role
The Matanuska is a mainline ferry, serving the larger communities of the Alaskan Panhandle (such as Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Sitka). Matanuska’s route spans the entirety of the Alaskan inside passage, often beginning in Prince Rupert, British Columbia or Bellingham, Washington north to Skagway. Matanuska is not ocean-certified, and therefore cannot run across the gulf of Alaska or out the Aleutian Chain.[citation needed]
The Matanuska is similar to its sister ship, the Malaspina, but larger than Taku which was never stretched beyond her original size.
Amenities
The ship's amenities include a hot-food cafeteria; cocktail lounge and bar; solarium; forward, aft, movie, and business lounges; gift shop; 4 four-berth cabins; 23 three-berth cabins; and 80 two-berth cabins.
Notes
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Cohenwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e f g h i j Vessel Profiles, M/V Matanuska Cite error: The named reference "AMHS Profile" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c Cohen 1994, p.20.
- ^ a b Welcome Aboard
- ^ Kiffer, 2006
- ^ Cohen 1994, p.12.
References
- Cohen, Stan. (1997). Highway on the Sea: A Pictorial History of the Alaska Marine Highway System. Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 0-929521-87-0.
- Kiffer, Dave. (2006). "The Grand Ships of the Alaska Marine Highway System". Site News. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- "Vessel Profiles". Alaska Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
- Welcome Aboard! M/V Matanuska. Alaska Marine Highway pamphlet.
External links
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