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The state ferry system’s mainline service to Southeast Alaska remains intact under the draft schedule for the fall/winter season of Oct. 1 through April 30, at one sailing a week. The rest of coastal Alaska is not so fortunate. The Prince William Sound communities of Cordova and Valdez would be left without any service for five months Oct. 1 through March 5 while the Aurora is in the shop for annual winter maintenance and to replace rusted steel on the 49-year-old ship. Gulf of Alaska service to Kodiak, Homer and a couple of small c...
Studious readers of the Pilot might remember Maditha Kröger from last summer - the German project manager who read a book called "Inside: One Woman's Journey Through the Inside Passage," decided to attempt the same epic adventure herself, and stopped in Petersburg for a few days' rest along the way and tell us about her journey so far. Last week, the author of that inspiring book came to Petersburg. On Tuesday, July 7, Susan Marie Conrad told an audience at the Petersburg Public Library about...
Southeast would go a week without mainline ferry service at the end of November as the Alaska Marine Highway System transitions between ships for its winter schedule. But seven days without the weekly northbound and southbound return voyage between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast is painless when compared to much longer service gaps in Prince William Sound and Southwest Alaska under the draft fall and winter schedule. Cordova and Valdez would be left without any ferry service for five months Oct. 1 through March 5 while the Aurora is in...
An agreement between the Canadian and British Columbia governments to boost resource development in the province includes a $500 million federal pledge (about US$350 million) to expand the capacity of a power line to the Red Chris Mine in the Stikine River watershed. The mine operator and 70% owner, Denver-based Newmont, along with its joint-venture partner, Vancouver-based Imperial Metals, are studying the feasibility of expanding the open-pit copper and gold mine to recover additional ore and extend its life. British Columbia regulators appro...
With heavy hearts and wonderful memories, we celebrate the life of Louise “Carroll” Nilsen, who left this world on June 20, 2026, at the age of 88. Carroll was born on December 2, 1937, in Kendrick, Idaho. Carroll grew up in a close-knit family consisting of her parents, grandparents, and numerous aunts and uncles, all of whom helped instill in her strong family values at a very young age. Those same values guided her as she raised her own family. Family meant everything to Carroll. One of the things that will always be remembered about Car... Full story
It’s never too late to say Thank You To the Editor: While Memorial Day was last week, I want to share a story of a powerful encounter I had with a veteran that brings tears to my eyes to this day. Years ago, I was at a craft show people-watching. I noticed an elderly couple hobbling down the aisle. They shared a striking resemblance to my own Midwestern parents: The wife had permed gray hair, polyester pants and was clutching her purse. The husband wore a flannel shirt, suspenders and a ball cap. As they (very) slowly made their way closer, I c...
The state ferry Columbia, the largest vessel in the fleet, has been delayed a second time coming back to work on the busy summer route between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast Alaska. The ship is now scheduled to make its first northbound run from Bellingham on June 5, according to the Alaska Marine Highway System’s online reservations site. The state will keep the Kennicott on the route until the Columbia is ready to go back into service. When the Columbia returns, the Kennicott will tie up at the dock in Ketchikan. The Marine Highway S...
KETCHIKAN – At 2:22 a.m. Monday, May 4, Ketchikan Public Utilities Telecommunications Division engineers became aware of a drop in local internet service and immediately contacted their downstream provider CityWest, located in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. By 6:30 a.m., KPU knew that the internet had been cut by vandals northwest of Prince George, British Columbia, resulting in an internet blackout in Ketchikan. Acting KPU Telecom Division Manager Dan White, in a phone call with the Daily News on Monday, explained what happened and how t...
As the Alaska Marine Highway System moves around its limited fleet of operational vessels, Petersburg, Wrangell and the other communities served by the Southeast mainline route will see a gap in service from April 15 to May 3. The Kennicott, which has been serving Southeast this winter, is being pulled from the run mid-April to provide a couple of weeks of service on the cross-gulf route to Yakutat, Whittier, Kodiak and other communities that have been without any service while their usual ferry, the Tustumena, has been in winter overhaul since...
Tickets to ride the Alaska Marine Highway System will go up a little more than 2% effective May 1, the first fare increase since 2019. That 2019 increase instituted “dynamic pricing” of higher fares on popular routes, much like airlines and hotels price their rates to maximize revenues. But dynamic pricing was not popular among ferry riders and the state rescinded the fare structure in 2022, leaving tickets unchanged since then. Craig Tornga, marine director for the state ferry system, told legislators last month that it’s important for the m...
The head of the Alaska Division of Elections will not share legal advice that led to the state’s decision to send an extended voter list to the U.S. Department of Justice. Director Carol Beecher told state senators last Wednesday that she will not waive attorney-client privilege as state lawmakers examine last year’s decision to give the Trump administration a detailed list of Alaska voters. Alaska is one of 12 states that have either turned over their voter lists or have said they plan to comply with a nationwide request, according to rec... Full story
February 12, 1926 – The largest school of herring found in any one locality in Southeastern Alaska in years, and the only school yet found in the district this season, fills the channel at Tee Harbor, according to local fishermen. Following the herring is a large run of King salmon, which is unusual for this time of year, and appearing in Southeastern Alaska waters for the first time, as far as is known, are blue shark, said to be man-eating, following the herring and salmon. The amount of herring can not be estimated so great are their n...
The International Pacific Halibut Commission set the 2026 harvest at a historic low during an annual meeting that drew a Trump Administration political appointee to lead tense U.S. negotiations with Canada over shares of a shrunken fishery. The four-day late-January gathering in Bellevue, Washington came during a time of tumultuous relations between the two nations. President Donald Trump's tariff policy and blustering talk of making Canada part of the United States have spurred widespread... Full story
Alaska’s state ferry system is at risk of a partial or total shutdown this summer due to the failure of the federal government to issue a key annual grant. “Currently right now, we have a shortfall in our budget,” said Dom Pannone, director of program administration and management for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, to members of the Senate Finance Committee during a Monday morning hearing. Money from the Federal Transit Administration’s rural ferry program pays for almost half of the Alaska Marine Highway... Full story
Though the state will have two ferries that could operate next summer on the popular route between Bellingham, Washington, and Alaska, it will park the Kennicott at the dock in Ketchikan, keeping it out of service for the fourth summer in a row due to a persistent crew shortage. The Alaska Marine Highway System has suffered from chronic crew vacancies ever since it tried to resume full service in 2022 after deep cuts to its schedule — and staffing — in 2021-2022 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down travel. Crew layoffs, resignations and ret...
While the 23-year-old, 360-foot-long American Empress cruise ship is being stripped of its superstructure for conversion into a deck barge, the borough is looking at buying four diesel generators to use as a backup power source for industrial development plans at the former 6-Mile mill site. The dismantling and conversion work started last month at the Tideline Construction operation at 6-Mile, where the company runs a scrap metal recycling business and is taking apart the Empress for the ship’s owner, American Cruise Lines. The four C...
Petersburg set a daily snowfall record Monday with 7.8 inches, but the early snowfall appears to be an outlier from expectations of a drier and colder winter to come, according to the National Weather Service in Juneau. The snowstorm continued through Tuesday, accumulating 15 inches of snow across the two days. No flights landed at the airport on Tuesday, and roads in town were somewhat treacherous until snow abated and plowing caught up by Wednesday morning. Tuesday would have been a snowfall...
The Alaska Marine Highway System has put the Columbia back to work through Dec. 17 to cover for the Kennicott, which is delayed leaving a Puget Sound shipyard. The Kennicott was scheduled to start running the first week of December between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast Alaska, but the state reported last month that the ship would be delayed two weeks coming out of the shipyard where it has been for a new generator and other repairs. The Kennicott is now scheduled to leave Ketchikan on...
State ferry officials on Monday were trying to work out a new early-December schedule after learning that the Kennicott will be delayed coming out of a yearlong layup at a Puget Sound shipyard for new generators and maintenance work. The Columbia had been scheduled to leave service to go into its winter maintenance layup starting Wednesday, Nov. 26, when it pulls into Ketchikan on its southbound run. The Kennicott had been scheduled to pick up the route, replacing the Columbia, between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast Alaska starting Dec....
When a young Sealaska intern walking a beach in July 2022 found the first evidence of European green crab presence in Alaska – a discarded shell on a beach on Annette Island in the state's far southeast corner – it was an ominous sign about the invasive species' northward spread. Since then, the Metlakatla Indian Community, the tribe based on Annette Island, and its partners, which include Alaska Sea Grant, have found not just more shells, but live invasive crabs. Discoveries numbered just a h... Full story
David Janzen was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia. He spent his early years in Canada before moving to Spencer, Massachusetts, where he joined the United States Air Force. After his service, he pursued a career in carpentry, a trade that reflected both his skill and independence. Eventually, David settled in Petersburg, Alaska, where he lived out the remainder of his life. David was known for his love of conversation. He always had something to say and often insisted on having the last... Full story
For the past two months, Maditha Kröger, a project manager from Germany has been paddling solo through the Inside Passage from Washington State toward Skagway aboard a 17-foot sea kayak named Prudence. Along the way Kröger stopped in Petersburg for a few days rest and shared a glimpse of her adventure with the Pilot before paddling on. Two years ago, after kayaking with friends in British Columbia, Kröger discovered the book "Inside" by Susan Marie Conrad, a memoir about a solo Inside Pa... Full story
Heterochone calyx, also called the Goblet Sponge, is one of the largest species of sponge on the Pacific Coast. A type of glass sponge, H. calyx is often found in deep, cold waters, particularly on the western coast of North America. The specimen on display at the Clausen Museum was caught by the F/V Frigidland about 25 miles off the coast of Baker Island, just west of Craig, Alaska. In 2008 the boat was long lining for black cod when this beautiful specimen came up, caught by a single hook...
July 3, 1925 – For the past three weeks or more there has been feverish activity on the waterfront along Bay View Drive in the boat building line. As a result, recently, one “full-rigged power boat” was launched with all the necessary ceremonies, including a bottle of soda pop waved in front of the bow and then poured down thirsty throats. And another boat is about to be launched! Perhaps more than one neighbor has found pieces of boards and planks missing from their backyards – but each piece has been sawed off and neatly fitted to create...
The public advisory board for the Alaska Marine Highway System has recommended that the state call an end to the Matanuska's 53-year career in the fleet. The final decision whether to sell the unseaworthy ferry rests with the governor and his Department of Transportation commissioner. "There is currently no set timeline for action," said Sam Dapcevich, the department's spokesman. The 408-foot-long, 499-passenger ferry has been out of service since the fall of 2022, when it went into the...
