JUNEAU — Alaska’s two new ferries will be named the Tazlina and the Hubbard.
Gov. Bill Walker’s office announced the new names in a release Tuesday. The ferries had to be named after one of the state’s 745 named glaciers.
The naming process was an essay contest for Alaska school students. In all, there were 488 essays submitted from those in sixth through the 12th grades.
Seventh grader Malea Voran of Ports Alsworth nominated Tazlina. She says it’s an Athabascan word for “swift river,” which she said was an appropriate name for a ferry.
Taylor Thompson, a sophomore in Eagle River, nominated Hubbard. She said unlike most glaciers, Hubbard is advancing. She said this “slab of ice has defied its predisposition,” and a ferry should be just as incredible.
The two ferries will be completed in 2018 and will provide day boat service between Juneau, Haines and Skagway.
