Alaska moves to award $350M contract to replace 62-year-old Tustumena ferry

Alaska transportation officials on Tuesday identified the likely winner of a bidding process for building a $350 million vessel to replace the state’s 62-year-old Tustumena ferry.

The M/V Tustumena has been connecting communities along the Aleutian chain to Southcentral Alaska since 1964. Alaska leaders for years have been discussing plans to replace the ferry with a newer vessel.

But the process of constructing a new ferry has been repeatedly delayed and hampered amid shifts in state and federal administration priorities.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was instrumental in adding funding to a bipartisan federal infrastructure bill in 2021 to build new ferries for Alaska. Funding from that bill, signed into law by former President Joe Biden, will be the primary way the state plans to pay for the new vessel.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities said Tuesday that it is nearing the conclusion of a monthslong bidding process, and had identified a Louisiana-based shipbuilder to construct the new ferry at a cost of just under $350 million.

That is an increase from 2021, when Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced a plan to replace the Tustumena by 2027 at a cost of up to $250 million. Both the price tag and the timeline have since been altered. The vessel is not expected to be complete until 2029, according to the latest plan.

In a written statement, Dunleavy said Tuesday that replacing the Tustumena reflects his administration’s “commitment to rebuilding this critical transportation network.”

During Dunleavy’s eight-year tenure, ridership and state revenue from the Alaska Marine Highway System have seen significant decline, with an aging fleet and difficulty in recruiting and retaining workers.

After several false starts, the state began seeking bids for the construction of the Tustumena replacement in January. The bidding process was initially intended to conclude in May, but was extended to provide more time for bidders to complete their proposals, according to state officials.

The department did not share how many bids it had received or details on the other bids.

The requirements for the new vessel include a 330-foot-long ship with a range of 4,000 nautical miles, and a capacity of 250 passengers and 28 crew plus 58 vehicles. That would be larger than the current vessel, which has the capacity to carry 160 passengers and up to 34, 20-foot vehicles.

Transportation officials said Tuesday that Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors, the Louisiana-based shipbuilder, has a 14-day window to submit all remaining requirement documentation. The award won’t be formalized until that process is complete.

Thoma-Sea recently completed work on the Arctic Fjord, a Seattle-based factory trawler operating in the Bering Sea. The Alaska transportation department stated that the project demonstrates the company’s “ability to successfully deliver complex vessels designed for Alaska’s demanding operating environment.”

The ferry system’s Marine Director Craig Tornga said in a statement that the step toward constructing the Tustumena replacement vessel “represents more than a new ship — it represents renewed confidence in the future of the Alaska Marine Highway System.”

“The replacement vessel will provide improved reliability, enhanced safety, increased operational flexibility, and modern efficient systems that will better serve our passengers, crews, and the communities that depend on us. We look forward to working with the men and women of Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors to deliver a high-performance vessel,” Tornga said in a statement.