KETCHIKAN — The Inter-Island Ferry Authority will restart its former northern route between Coffman Cove and Mitkof Island beginning this summer.
The ferry now sails a daily route between Ketchikan and Hollis on Prince of Wales Island. The IFA once sailed the northern route, according to its general manager, Dennis Watson, but it became too unprofitable.
Beginning in May, the IFA will sail between Coffman Cove and the state’s South Mitkof terminal one day each month until September. Petersburg is on the northern end of Mitkof Island.
The route is being subsidized by the Alaska Department of Transportation. The South Mitkof terminal was built using federal money, but the Alaska Marine Highway System no longer sails there.
The state was at risk of having to return millions of federal dollars if the terminal remained unused.
The IFA states the once-a-month route won’t affect its Ketchikan-Hollis route “in any way.”
It will run northern routes on May 30, June 27, July 25, Aug. 29 and Sept. 26, according to the announcement.
The ferry will leave Coffman Cove in the morning and arrive at South Mitkof close to noon, returning south a half-hour later.
