MV Taku

MV Taku
History
Name:	Taku
Namesake:	Taku Glacier, Juneau, Alaska
Owner:	Alaska Marine Highway System
Port of registry:	United States
Builder:	Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Company, Seattle, Washington
Cost:	$4.5 Million USD[1]
Launched:	1963[2]
Commissioned:	1963
Status:	in active service
General characteristics
Class and type:	Malaspina-class mainline ferry
Tonnage:	2,625 Domestic 7,302 International[2]
Displacement:	4,283 long tons (4,352 t)[2]
Length:	352 ft (107 m)[2]
Beam:	74 ft (23 m)[2]
Draft:	16 ft 11 in (5.16 m)[2]
Decks:	One vehicle deck, three passenger decks [3]
Ramps:	Aft, port, and starboard ro-ro loading
Installed power:	Two 4,000 hp MaK Diesel engines [3]
Speed:	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)[2]
Capacity:	370 passengers 69 vehicles[2]
Crew:	42[2]

M/V Taku is a Malaspina-class mainline vessel for the Alaska Marine Highway System.

History

Designed by Philip F. Spaulding & Associates, constructed in 1963 by the Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Company in Seattle, Washington,^[1] 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 has been in service steadily until the summer of 2015 when she was laid up due to budget considerations.^[4] With the layup lasting indefinitely due to budget uncertanty, AMHS has begun considering selling Taku.^[5]

Role

As a mainline ferry, Taku serves 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 is 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 include 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

• On April 23rd, 1963 the Taku struck a rock outside Petersburg in a minus tide. She returned to service on May 3rd.^[1]
• On August 8th, 1963 two boys entered the wheelhouse when the Taku was preparing to leave Petersburg, and engaged the engines. The resulting damage to the dock left the vehicle loading ramp out of commission for three months.^[1]
• On July 29th, 1970, the Taku ran aground on Kinihan Island, outside of Prince Rupert, Canada. All passengers on board were evacuated safely, and the cars were transferred to the BC Ferry MV Queen of Prince Rupert ^[1]

Notes

1. Cohen (1994), p. 16
2. Vessel Profiles, M/V Taku
3. Welcome Aboard
4. Westmoreland, Charles (13 May 2015). "AMHS ferry Taku beached for the summer". Juneau Empire. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
5. Bowman, Nick (13 September 2015). Juneau Empire http://juneauempire.com/state/2015-10-12/amhs-may-explore-selling-taku-ferry. Retrieved 13 September 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)

References

• Cohen, Stan. (1997). Highway on the Sea: A Pictorial History of the Alaska Marine Highway System. Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 0-929521-87-0.
• "Vessel Profiles". Alaska Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
• Welcome Aboard! M/V Taku. Alaska Marine Highway pamphlet.

External links

• Official Alaska Marine Highway System website