M/V ''Chenega'' is a catamaran ferry built by

Derecktor Shipyards Derecktor Shipyards is an American shipbuilding company located in Mamaroneck, New York, and founded in 1947 by Robert E. Derecktor. The company is known for building '' Cakewalk V'', one of the largest yachts ever constructed in the United States ...

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

for the

Alaska Marine Highway System The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska. The Alaska Marine Highway System operates along the south-central ...

entering service 2005. After being laid up in 2017, in March 2021 it was sold by the

Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is a department within the government of Alaska. Its headquarters are in Alaska's capital city, Juneau. The mission of Alaska DOT&PF is to "''Keep Alaska Moving through service ...

to Servicios y Concesiones Maritimas Ibicencas along with sister ship MV ''Fairweather'' for service between

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

.Alaska Ferries off to Spain ''

Ships Monthly Kelsey Media is a magazine publisher and trade fair company based in Yalding, England. Founded in 1989, it has bought and sold many publications over the years, including former Bauer Media Group magazines ''Sea Angler'', ''Car Mechanics'' and '' ...

'' May 2021 page 6

Route

The ''Chenega'' ran into controversy from virtually the day it came into service. The ''Chenega'' had long been promised to service

Prince William Sound Prince William Sound (Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Tr ...

year-round, and starting in the summer of 2005, however it came into service later than scheduled and the state of Alaska soon reneged on its promise for full-time Prince William Sound service and transferred the Chenega to its current route between

Ketchikan Ketchikan ( ; tli, Kichx̱áan) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District. With a population at the 20 ...

and Petersburg with occasional stops in Wrangell for the winter. The new plan was to have the ''Chenega'' run this

Southeast Alaska Southeast Alaska, colloquially referred to as the Alaska(n) Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia (and a small part ...

route in the winter and then transfer the ferry up to Prince William Sound in the summer. This was especially controversial because unlike feeder and mainline ferry vessels, the fast ferries only operated in the day thus their crews lived in their homeports offering additional economic stimulus to its host community. Because of this, Cordova, the ''Chenega'''s Prince William Sound home, was especially outraged after the decision to transfer the boat to Ketchikan. In the winter, the MV ''Aurora'' took the ''Chenega'''s place running the Prince William Sound route.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chenega Alaska Marine Highway System vessels Ferries of Spain 2005 ships Ships built in Bridgeport, Connecticut