Alaska Marine Highway System puts 1.5 million dollar minimum price on MV Taku

The AMHS vessel MV Taku is up for sale
with a minimum bid price of $1.5M
(photo courtesy AMHS)

It once was a regular fixture at the Prince Rupert Terminal of the Alaska Marine Highway, one of the vessels of the Alaska Service that would travel up and down the coast, crossing the A/B line on a regular schedule of passenger and vehicle service between Prince Rupert and Ketchikan.

The MV Taku, was once a workhorse vessel for the AMHS that became permanently fixed to a Ketchikan dock at Ward Cove a few years ago.

The vessel part of a fleet reduction strategy that saw a number of modifications to the AMHS service as the Alaska Government looked to rein in the cost of Marine Transportation.

And now for the Taku, the next stage of its time on the seas is close, with the AMHS putting the vessel up for sale for the highest bidder, listed on an "As Is, Where Is" basis, with the sealed bid process to remain underway until the deadline of May 9th.

The Taku was constructed in 1963 and operated as part of the Alaska Marine Highway Service until June of 2015 when she was taken out of service, considered excess to the needs of the State and outside of what the state of Alaska could afford to maintain and operate in passenger service with its current levels of funding.

You can examine some of the details of the faithful vessel of the North Coast and Southeast Alaska by reviewing the Sealed Bid background page here.

More notes related to Marine Transportation on the North Coast can be found on our archive page.