Ferry staff repairing LeConte generator

The LeConte docks at Juneau’s Auke Bay ferry terminal last summer.

The ferry LeConte is on schedule to return to service Tuesday, Oct. 8.

The small ship was out of service Oct. 6-7 due to a generator failure. It was tied up at its homeport of Juneau.

State spokesman Jeremy Woodrow says the generator is being repaired, not replaced. He says the work had to wait while parts were shipped up from Ketchikan, home of marine highway headquarters.

The 40-year-old LeConte can carry up to 300 people. It sails from Juneau to Haines, Skagway, Gustavus, Hoonah, Angoon and Tenakee Springs.

Its schedule was delayed last summer due to bow-thruster problems.

Another northern Southeast ship, the fast ferry Fairweather, is also tied up at the Juneau terminal.

Woodrow says it’s undergoing safety tests.

One they’re completed, the ship will sail to Seattle, where its engines will be replaced. It’s scheduled to return to service mid-May.

 

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