Earlier this winter, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) issued a request for proposals for the construction of a replacement vessel for the Alaska Marine Highway System’s (AMHS) Tustumena.
PVA member Glosten designed the new vessel which will be faster and offer more passenger and vehicle capacity than its predecessor. The passenger and vehicle ferry will operate along Alaska’s coastal routes and will feature modernized onboard safety systems and improved passenger comfort. The propulsion system will be diesel-electric and the ferry is planned as an ocean-class passenger vessel.
Sealed bids are due by 2 p.m. AST on May 28 and will be received at the Office of the Contracts Engineer, Engineering Services Building, Room 3, 2301 Peger Road, Fairbanks, Alaska.
Qualified shipyards are to supply labor, materials, and equipment necessary to construct the new ferry. An engineer’s estimate has been set for over $100 million for the project which has a completion date of
Jan. 31, 2029.
Details can be viewed here for the projected, listed as Project No. AK-2024-025-02-00 / SFTAG00719. Plans, specifications, addenda, and related bid documents are available for download through the State of Alaska’s online bidding service.
This will be one of the largest vessel procurements planned for the system and is key to AMHS’s long-term fleet renewal efforts.
In addition to the Tustumena replacement vessel, Glosten has been chosen by AMHS to develop a design for a new diesel-electric hybrid ferry which will serve various ports in Southeast Alaska.
The low-emission shuttle ferry will have a hybrid propulsion system to operate on diesel fuel or on shoreside electric power stored in onboard batteries. Funding will come from the Federal Transit Administration, and the vessel will comply with Buy American requirements. The preliminary design is near completion with the contract design phase scheduled to complete in the summer of 2026.