Despite a plethora of delays that have plagued the Tustumena since this last spring, the ferries servicing south-central and the Aleutian chain is due to restart service on October 20.

The 296-foot ferry, affectionately known as the “Trusty Tusty” has been out of service for the last year since it was hauled out of the water last November for much-needed repairs. the 50-year-old passenger and vehicle vessel was originally to return to service on April 17, 2013, but the discovery of additional steelwork caused the project to be extended until the end of May at the Seward Ship Drydock. that initially pushed back scheduled service to the end of July.

The summer launching was postponed after Coast Guard inspectors discovered faulty welds aboard the vessel. It was necessary to scarf out those welds and re-do them causing further delays. Seward Ship Drydock owner Jim Pruitt pointed to the deterioration of the old steel in the craft for the reasons that the hull did not pass the X-Ray inspections.

Delay after delay hampered the relaunching of the ferry and the ferry was to re-enter service in September. But, shortly before that scheduled launch, the Coast Guard found that repairs to the vessel hull had been completed with steel that was to thin for the purpose. The steel needed to be cut out and replaced with the proper gauge of steel, causing a fifth delay.

But, finally, the Tustumena is now back in the water and undergoing sea trials which consist of among other essensial tests, the incline and stability tests which are extremely necessary to assure that the Tusty is seaworthy and stable in the water. Passenger ferries are prone to be much more top-heavy then other sea-going vessels, and thus must undergo stringent load and ballast calculations.

The government shut-down may slow down this final pproces but the ferry officials are optimistic that at least temporary certification will get the Tusty back onto its scheduled run which will begin with a scheduled stop into Seldovia before continuing on to Homer. From Homer, the Tustumena will sail to Port Lions then Ouzinkie then on to the city of Kodiak.

During the Tustumena’s down time, the 13-year-old Kennicott picked up the slack periodically. But, that vessel is to large to make stops in many of the Aleutian Chain ports that are serviced by the Tustumena. Additionally, the Kennecott must undergo its mandatory annual overhaul in Ketchikan starting in Mid-October. The Kennecott and the Tustumena are the only two Alaska ferries with ocean-going accreditation.