Shipbuilder submits bid to replace an iconic but aged Alaska state ferry

A Louisiana shipbuilder is proposing to build a replacement for one of the workhorse vessels in the Alaska state ferry fleet.

Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors LLC submitted a bid of about $350 million to build a replacement for the 62-year-old Tustumena, one of two ocean-going ships in the fleet, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities said Tuesday.

Thoma-Sea’s bid was the only one submitted for the project, a department spokesperson said.

The company’s bid, which is still subject to more review, brings the state a step closer to replacing the iconic “Trusty Tusty,” a ship famous for plying often-rough Gulf of Alaska waters as far west as Unalaska in the Aleutian Islands.

“For the communities served by the Tustumena, this vessel represents far more than a new ferry. It is a lifeline that connects families, supports local economies, moves freight, and provides access to essential services,” Ryan Anderson, commissioner of the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said in a statement.

Submission of the bid represents an important step toward what is planned as the first major Alaska Marine Highway System vessel procurement in more than a decade, the department said.

The effort to replace the Tustumena has been an on-and-off process stretching over more than a decade.

The Tustumena, named for the Tustumena Glacier on the Kenai Peninsula, is the smallest of the state’s four mainline ferries, but it is known for its toughness.

Decades of being battered in the Gulf of Alaska have taken a toll on the ship. Starting in late 2012, it spent several months in dry dock for a series of repairs, disrupting sailing schedules and leaving Gulf of Alaska communities like Kodiak without ferry service for an extended period. In 2016, it developed a hull crack severe enough to force some weather restrictions for the ship’s operations. Those problems inspired another nickname: “Rusty Tusty.”

The ship has withstood political and economic turbulence, as well.

A replacement plan triggered by the 2012 repair problems was later shelved for budgetary reasons, then revived and then shelved again, also for budgetary reasons. A 2022 state request for bids from shipbuilders drew no responses. Plans to solicit bids in 2024 and 2025 did not materialize.

This year’s bidding process resulted in an estimated cost about $100 million higher than what was estimated in 2021 by the Dunleavy administration. However, most of the money that would be needed to pay for the planned replacement has come to the state through federal legislation shepherded by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

The replacement ship is to be built by 2029, according to the state’s request for bids. Meanwhile, the Tustumena, which has gotten several upgrades, continues to operate on its route between Homer and Unalaska.

Despite its ups and downs, the Tustumena has a loyal and affectionate following from residents of western Gulf of Alaska communities and Alaska history buffs.

An oral history project compiled stories of people who worked or rode on the Tustumena in past decades.

In 2024, residents of Kodiak threw a 60th anniversary bash for the Tustumena that featured speeches by legislators and mayors from communities served by the ferry.