Ian Duncan reports for the Washington Post
The change in the noise coming from the Matanuska’s engines was a clue something was wrong with the ferry. A peek out the window was confirmation.
“We were creeping along,” said Adrianne Milos, one of the passengers making what should have been a three-day trip from Bellingham, Wash., home to Alaska in late January.
The crew came on loudspeakers and announced they’d be bringing the ship into Juneau at half speed.
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When they finally arrived, Milos, her husband and their cat, Squeaks, were only 70 miles from home in Haines, a small community up the Lynn Canal from Juneau. But they were effectively stranded.
A 30 percent budget cut imposed on the ferry system last year and unforeseen maintenance problems meant the Matanuska was the only mainline ferry operating on the Alaska Marine Highway System. Now it was broken down, presenting more than an inconvenience to Milos and fellow passengers: Communities already reeling from service cuts faced a month with next to no ferries at all.
