The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities reports that the M/V Tustumena’s sailings through today (Friday, August 26, 2022) are canceled due to crew shortages, again. The Tustumena is expected to resume its published schedule on Saturday, August 27 at 10:30 a.m. from Homer to Kodiak.
All passengers are being notified and rebooked or refunded as necessary. The new sailing schedule is available at www.FerryAlaska.gov, or travelers may contact the AMHS reservation call center by dialing (907) 465-3941 or toll-free at (800) 642-0066.
This isn’t the first time the M/V Tustumena ran into crew shortages. In July, the Tustumena docked in Homer for the crew to rest for several days, which also was attributed to crew shortages, which required the vessel to stay in port for safety reasons.
At that time, the ship was operating with a small group of sailors in southwest Alaska and, due to insufficient numbers of replacement staff, the ship hasn’t been able to backfill essential positions that are vacant due to illness or other qualifying needs. Staffing shortages have been a concern nationally and throughout the Alaska Marine Highway System.
Since early 2022, the Alaska Department of Transportation has held an aggressive hiring campaign to recruit workers. They are employing headhunters, participating in job fairs across Alaska and Washington, and offering $5,000 signing bonuses to attract new crew members.