Name Taku Cost $4.5 Million USD Launched 1963 | Commissioned 1963 Length 107 m | |
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Owner Alaska Marine Highway System | ||
M/V Taku is a Malaspina-class mainline vessel built for the Alaska Marine Highway System. The ship has been retired and is pending sale or scrapping.
Contents
History
Designed by Philip F. Spaulding & Associates, constructed in 1963 by the Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Company in Seattle, Washington, 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. The AMHS subsequently announced that it would retire the vessel in preparation for sale or scrapping.
Role
As a mainline ferry, Taku served the larger of the inside passage communities (such as Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Sitka), its route primarily stays 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
