MV Taku

M/V Taku is a Malaspina-class mainline vessel built for the Alaska Marine Highway System. The ship has been retired and was sold to a Dubai-based company for $171,000.[4] The owner sought to sell the ferry internationally, and was unsuccessful, and it was last seen beached in Alang, India, to be scrapped.

MV Taku
History
Name: Taku
Namesake: Taku Glacier, Juneau, Alaska
Owner: Alaska Marine Highway System
Port of registry:  United States
Builder: Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Company, Seattle, Washington
Cost: $4.5 Million USD[1]
Launched: 1963[2]
Commissioned: 1963
Identification:
Status: sold and on 28 April 2018 beached in Alang, India, to be scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type: Malaspina-class mainline ferry
Tonnage: 2,625 Domestic 7,302 International[2]
Displacement: 4,283 long tons (4,352 t)[2]
Length: 352 ft (107 m)[2]
Beam: 74 ft (23 m)[2]
Draft: 16 ft 11 in (5.16 m)[2]
Decks: One vehicle deck, three passenger decks [3]
Ramps: Aft, port, and starboard ro-ro loading
Installed power: Two 4,000 hp MaK Diesel engines [3]
Speed: 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)[2]
Capacity:
  • 370 passengers
  • 69 vehicles[2]
Crew: 42[2]

History

Designed by Philip F. Spaulding & Associates, constructed in 1963 by the Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Company in Seattle, Washington,[1] the M/V Taku is named after Taku Glacier which is located just southeast of Juneau, Alaska and has been in the ferry system for over forty years. In 1981, the Taku received a major refurbishment and was in service steadily until the summer of 2015 when she was laid up due to budget considerations.[5][6] The AMHS subsequently announced that it would retire the vessel in preparation for sale or scrapping.[7]

Role

As a mainline ferry, Taku served the larger of the inside passage communities (such as Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Sitka), its route primarily stayed between Ketchikan and Skagway in Southeast Alaska.

The M/V Taku was the largest of the three AMHS vessels able to serve the communities of Hoonah and Kake and because of this served as a critical component of providing transportation out of Hoonah and Kake after the "milk run" ferry, the M/V LeConte hit a rock and went into dry dock.

Amenities

The Taku's amenities included a hot-food cafeteria; bar; solarium; forward, aft, recliner, movie, and business lounges; gift shop; 8 four-berth cabins; and 36 two-berth cabins.

Accidents and Incidents
  • On April 23rd, 1963 the Taku struck a rock outside Petersburg in a minus tide. She returned to service on May 3rd.[1]
  • On August 8th, 1963 two boys entered the wheelhouse when the Taku was preparing to leave Petersburg, and engaged the engines. The resulting damage to the dock left the vehicle loading ramp out of commission for three months.[1]
  • On July 29th, 1970, the Taku ran aground on Kinihan Island, outside of Prince Rupert, Canada. All passengers on board were evacuated safely, and the cars were transferred to the BC Ferry MV Queen of Prince Rupert [1]

Notes
  1. Cohen (1994), p. 16
  2. Vessel Profiles, M/V Taku
  3. Welcome Aboard
  4. Brooks, James (2018-01-23). "'Bittersweet for Alaska': Beloved ferry Taku just sold to a Dubai company". Juneau Empire. Juneau Empire. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  5. Westmoreland, Charles (13 May 2015). "AMHS ferry Taku beached for the summer". Juneau Empire. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  6. Bowman, Nick (13 September 2015). "AMHS may explore selling Taku ferry". Juneau Empire. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  7. AMHS focus of SE Conference. Bowman, Nick. Ketchikan Daily News, 25 February 2017

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 978-0-929521-87-9.
  • "Vessel Profiles". Alaska Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 30, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  • Welcome Aboard! M/V Taku. Alaska Marine Highway pamphlet.
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