Legislature(2025 - 2026)BARNES 124
02/11/2025 01:30 PM House TRANSPORTATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Intro to the Alaska Marine Highway System's Long-range Plan | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE
February 11, 2025
1:38 p.m.
DRAFT
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Ashley Carrick, Co-Chair
Representative Ted Eischeid, Co-Chair
Representative Genevieve Mina
Representative Louise Stutes
Representative Kevin McCabe
Representative Elexie Moore
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Cathy Tilton
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: INTRO TO THE ALASKA MARINE HIGHWAY SYSTEM'S LONG-
RANGE PLAN
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
CRAIG TORNGA, Marine Director
Alaska Marine Highway System
Department of Transportation and Public Facilities
Ketchikan, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a PowerPoint presentation on the
Alaska Marine Highway System's long-range plan.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:38:02 PM
CO-CHAIR ASHLEY CARRICK called the House Transportation Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:38 p.m. Representatives Mina,
Stutes, McCabe, Moore, Eischeid, and Carrick were present at the
call to order.
^PRESENTATION: Intro to the Alaska Marine Highway System's Long-
range Plan
PRESENTATION: Intro to the Alaska Marine Highway System's Long-
range Plan
1:38:42 PM
CO-CHAIR CARRICK announced that the only order of business would
be a presentation on the Alaska Marine Highway System's long-
range plan.
1:39:24 PM
CRAIG TORNGA, Marine Director, Alaska Marine Highway System
(AMHS), Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, gave
a PowerPoint presentation on the Alaska Marine Highway System's
long-range plan [hard copy included in the committee packet].
He began the presentation on slide 6, pointing out AMHS's safety
goal of "no harm to people, environment, and equipment." He
stated that in 2024, there were 51 injuries to crew, no spills
to the water, and no allisions or collisions.
MR. TORNGA, in response to a series of committee questions, said
that many of the crew injuries happened on the deck. He
discussed several examples of crew injuries, noting that AMHS
needs to improve its system of reporting injuries. In response
to a question about injuries from absorption, ingestion, or
inhalation, he clarified that this would be related to working
with fumes or liquids without the proper personal protective
equipment (PPE). He continued that a repetitive motion injury
would be from repeatedly doing a task. He explained the eye
injury and finger injury that were listed on the slide. He
added that not all 51 injuries to crewmembers were "lost time"
injuries. He defined allision is a strike with a stationary
object. He responded that there was a whale collision in 2023,
but there had been none in 2024.
1:47:55 PM
MR. TORNGA moved to slide 7. Concerning reliability, he pointed
out that vessels have had extended delays in the shipyard
because of steel wastage. He explained that this wastage
continually occurs because of the age of the fleet, and the
steel must be replaced, which has significant costs. Concerning
AMHS updates, he stated that the computer maintenance management
system (CMMS) was implemented in 2024. He explained that this
system would be setting the foundation for a preventative
maintenance program for the new vessels. He spoke to AMHS's
uptime and downtime percentages. Excluding shipyard downtimes,
he pointed out that in 2024 there was only a 2 percent downtime.
He expressed the opinion that this is a very good percentage.
He described preventative maintenance is a disciplined program,
as there are thousands of parts listed in CMMS for the vessels'
engines, generators, and more. He expressed appreciation for
the vessel engineers and their hard work.
1:51:25 PM
MR. TORNGA, in response to a question from Representative Mina
concerning reliability metrics, stated that the downtime
statistic on slide 7 is based on mechanical reliability. He
described other reasons that ferries could be delayed, such as
late departures, load-time delays, and community-requested
schedule adjustments. He stated that AMHS's long-range plan is
for these delays to be tracked. In response to a follow-up
question, he stated that slide 7 does not represent all the
maintenance vessels would need to provide reliable service. He
discussed the fire main issue that resulted in the MV Columbia
being out of commission for the entire year. He noted that the
MV Aurora would be out for an extended time for the same reason.
He also pointed out that the MV LeConte would be out of service
because of the need to replace sections on the car deck. He
further discussed the scheduling problems when vessels are out
of commission.
MR. TORNGA, in response to a question from Representative
Stutes, said that CMMS is the preventative maintenance module of
the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) system. He stated
that a server has been put on every vessel to be used as a
maintenance tool. He added that this would also help with
adherence to the American Bureau of Shipping standards.
MR. TORNGA moved to slide 8 and pointed out AMHS's hiring
statistics. He noted that in 2024, AMHS hired 7 masters, mates,
and pilots, while 11 separated. He stated that deck officers
are trained within the system, and AMHS must "be reloading all
the time" for these positions. He commented that maintaining
marine engineers "is a real challenge," as 8 separated with only
1 new hire. He noted that the Marine Engineers' Beneficial
Association (MEBA) has a hiring hall where temporary workers
could be dispatched. He noted that these people "love to come"
to Alaska, as they can make overtime wages. He noted that there
has not been a problem with keeping Inlandboatmen's Union (IBU)
personnel, which includes stewards and deck workers.
2:02:40 PM
MR. TORNGA, in response to a question from Co-Chair Carrick
concerning the decrease in retention rates, expressed the
opinion that the vacancy rates would not go down until there are
changes in the hiring system. He pointed out that if IBU
personnel stay nine months, they would receive a sign-on bonus.
He stated that the focus has been to hire instate crew, as they
tend to stay longer. He noted AMHS has been making agreements
with communities to provide travel pay for individuals who want
to live in their communities while working for the ferry system.
In response to a follow-up question, he expressed uncertainty
concerning the ferry system's vacancy rate in 2010 and 2011,
which had been AMHS's peak period. He expressed the
understanding that during this time, jobs on the ferries were
difficult to obtain. He noted that currently there is a
national shortage for marine industry workers, and hiring new
employees has become highly competitive.
MR. TORNGA, in response to a question from Representative McCabe
concerning any restrictions in the collective bargaining
agreements for hiring, said that any hiring changes would need
to be amended in the hiring contracts. In response to a follow-
up question, he suggested that AMHS has both shared goals and
differences with the unions. He pointed out that MEBA has been
responsive to the need in Alaska. He noted that the
International Organization of Master, Mates, and Pilots (MM&P)
does not have a hiring hall like MEBA, while the hiring hall for
IBU has not been responsive to the need. In response, he
explained the process of working with the union halls. He noted
that any contract would be made by AMHS's collective bargaining
agreement, and he gave some details on this. He continued that
union halls are also struggling because of the shortage of
workers in the marine industry.
MR. TORNGA, in response to a question from Representative
Stutes, said that AMHS would not pay the same wages as
Washington State Ferries. He spoke about the similarities
between the Washington system and AMHS. In response to a
follow-up question concerning the difference between the wages
for the two systems, he explained that wages would vary
depending on the position. He noted that the largest wage gap
would be for a master, as Washington State Ferries would pay
this position 25 percent more.
2:15:15 PM
MR. TORNGA discussed AMHS crew position vacancies, as seen on
slide 9. He moved to slide 10 and discussed capital projects,
pointing out that additional crew quarters would be built on the
MV Tazlina. He noted that the MV Columbia's project has been
put on hold for risk assessment, while the MV Matanuska's
project would be presented to the Alaska Marine Highway
Operations Board for a decision. He stated that the MV
Kennicott's generator upgrades are underway, and he noted the
complexity of this project.
MR. TORNGA moved to slide 11 and discussed new vessel
construction. He stated that AMHS has been meeting weekly with
the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on the following
projects: the low-no emission ferry design, the mainline
replacement vessel design, and MV Tustumena Replacement Vessel
(TRV) construction project. He discussed the details of these
projects and the process of going forward. He moved to slide 12
and described the timeline for the TRV project.
MR. TORNGA overviewed the long-range plan and the path to
reliability, as seen on slide 13. He emphasized the goal of
increasing the efficiency of the fleet. He noted the periods on
the slide, with the new low-no vessel coming into service during
the first period from 2025 to 2028. He added that port calls
would begin to increase during this period. He pointed out that
the new larger vessels and the dayboat would begin service
during the period from 2029 to 2035. He explained that the
larger vessels would require a different master's license, along
with more crew. He noted that the new fleet design has taken
these factors, along with efficiency, into consideration. He
noted that the fleet would be smaller, but the vessels would
have more port calls because they have been designed for the
routes. He expressed the opinion that this would be more
efficient and affordable for the state going forward. He said
the draft of the long-range plan would be released to the public
by the end of the month.
2:23:34 PM
MR. TORNGA, in response to a question from Representative
Stutes, said that the FTA dollars awarded to AMHS projects would
only be used for designated projects, not for operational costs.
MR. TORNGA, in response to a series of questions from
Representative Mina, stated that AMHS would retain staff during
the winter months because "right now we don't let anybody go
because you'll never get them back." He expressed the opinion
that because of the difficulty in finding staff, this would be
the strategy for all seasonal hires in other industries as well.
He spoke about crews who work on the vessels while they are in
the shipyard, doing jobs they were not necessarily hired for.
Concerning ferry service to Sitka, he stated that the mainline
vessel currently goes to Sitka weekly; however, it would not be
a roundtrip back to Juneau. He noted that there has been
discussion on building a road to Warm Springs, where a dayboat
service could be provided to Juneau. He added that with the
Native hospital being built in Sitka, the passage to Warm
Springs would be popular with the other communities in the area.
In response, he stated that the ferry service does not have a
plan to go to the Bering Sea. He stated that the AMHS's long-
term plan only looks at the historical ports of call.
MR. TORNGA, in response to a question from Representative McCabe
concerning crew that train in Alaska and move to different areas
for better pay, clarified that he was specifically speaking
about MM&P members. He noted that this movement is normal, as
it happens across the country with these members.
2:33:04 PM
MR. TORNGA, in response to a question from Co-Chair Carrick,
said the plan is for every vessel in the fleet to have a
Starlink system. He noted that several vessels already have
units onboard for the CMMS system. He added that there would be
systems set up for customers and for crews as well. He stated
that it would take two-to-three years before every vessel has a
system. In response to a question concerning additional ferry
routes that are not in the long-range plan, he spoke about the
popularity of the ferry route that ran across the Gulf of
Alaska. He discussed the current feasibility for this, noting
that now most of the ferries are not ocean-class vessels. He
stated that two of the new ferries would have this capability.
He spoke about the possibility of having floating docks, as this
would give versatility to ports. In response to a follow-up
question, he stated that AMHS does not currently collect data on
passengers and the reason for their travel. He said some minor
changes are being made to the online reservation system that
could provide more passenger information.
MR. TORNGA, in response to a question from Co-Chair Eischeid on
attracting staff with benefits, stated that AMHS is looking at
all options within the budget restrictions. He explained that
any new benefit would have to be analyzed for its real cost. He
pointed out that many employees continue to work for the ferry
system because of their Tier I or Tier II status in the Public
Employees' Retirement System. In response to a question
concerning any new ideas to attract customers, he expressed the
importance of reliability. He spoke in length about reliability
and improvements to the AMHS service.
2:54:03 PM
MR. TORNGA, in response to a question from Representative Mina
concerning extended ferry cancellations, stated that one recent
cancellation was because of problems with the emergency
generator on the MV Hubbard. He stated that these vessels could
not sail without an emergency generator. He noted another
cancellation of the MV Hubbard was because of problems with the
main engine. He stated that both of these incidents occurred in
Haines, resulting in the extended cancellations. He added that
this had affected the AMHS's downtime statistics.
MR. TORNGA, in response to a question from Representative McCabe
concerning retirement and benefits for AMHS staff, clarified
that earlier in the meeting he was mostly speaking about
captains and mates who have Tier I and Tier II status with the
state. He added that there is a program for retired members of
MM&P to return temporarily to work if they are needed.
2:58:49 PM
MR. TORNGA, in response to a question from Representative Mina
concerning a ferry cancellation that had disrupted food
transport to a village, stated that AMHS had provided a
supplemental service to transport this food. He noted that the
Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes had been
able to provide refrigerated storage until the food could be
transported.
CO-CHAIR CARRICK thanked the presenter and the staff at AMHS.
She gave closing comments.
3:01:10 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Transportation Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 3:01
p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 02.11.25 HTRA Intro to AMHS.pdf |
HTRA 2/11/2025 1:30:00 PM |