Cordovans are pushing back against a planned five-month ferry service gap to Prince William Sound this winter.
Cordova community members and leaders called a work session this month with Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) Director Craig Tornga and Alaska state Rep. Louise Stutes to advocate for at least one trip in and out of Cordova per month this winter. The schedule, which was announced in July, outlines a complete service gap for Prince William Sound from Oct. 1 to March 6, 2027.
“I don’t really want to see Cordova just have to carry the water for this, that doesn’t feel right. We’ve carried it for a long time,” Barb Jewell, a Cordova resident and former School Board president, said during the Aug. 10 work session.
“This is the fourth time that I’ve sat and testified asking people to reconsider ferry cuts.”
The service outage was scheduled because of extensive steel damage on the M/V Aurora, which is the boat that travels on the Prince William Sound route.
The Aurora is due for maintenance repairs at the shipyard starting Oct. 1, but Tornga said he might be able to delay that start date if it would help Cordova residents. However, he also mentioned the timeline for the Aurora is approximate, and it may take longer to repair than the current five-month estimate.
Cordova residents said AMHS should re-work its schedule to include a monthly Wednesday through Sunday trip – mainly so kids can travel for sports and adults can make medical and other crucial appointments in Anchorage and elsewhere.
Stutes said if AMHS commits to monthly service to Prince William Sound this winter she wants a near guarantee there will be ridership. AMHS tried to add service contracting a catamaran during a previous service outage, but didn’t receive enough ridership to justify the adjustment, according to officials.
“Whatever they come up with for Cordova is going to disrupt other communities’ schedules and so it’s got to be static each month so those communities can continue to count on the dependability of the schedule just like you guys want to,” Stutes said. “Craig is going to be your key guy. You’re lucky that I know him and I have a good relationship with him.”
While Tornga did not make any promises about Prince William Sound ferry service this winter, he said he’d work with the shipyard to see if there could be any flexibility in the Aurora maintenance schedule.
Tornga is scheduled to meet with the maintenance shipyard on Sept. 3.
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