MV ''Kennicott'' is a mainline

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

vessel for the

Alaska Marine Highway System The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska. The Alaska Marine Highway System operates along the south-central ...

. Constructed in 1998 by the Halter Marine Group in Moss Point,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, the ''Kennicott'' has been one of the most vital vessels to the Alaska ferry system since its inception. It is nine-deck, ocean certified vessel and is also able to serve as a command and logistics vessel in the event of disaster or

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

. The ferry system, taking advantage of her ocean-going status, sends the vessel on a monthly trans-

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska ( Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the ...

("cross-gulf") voyage beginning in

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

and concluding in Kodiak. On this voyage, the ''Kennicott'' is able to provide service to the isolated Gulf of Alaska community of Yakutat and is the only vessel to do so. The cross-gulf voyages are very popular and quite often sold out. The ''Kennicott'' and the are the Alaska Marine Highway's only accredited ocean-going vessels. The ''Kennicott'' also serves as a mainline relief ferry in the event other ferries are out of service. The ''Kennicott''s amenities include a hot-food cafeteria; cocktail lounge and bar; solarium; forward, aft, movie, and business lounges; gift shop; 51 four-berth cabins; and 58 two-berth cabins. The aft portion of the ''Kennicott'' appears bloated because there is an external car elevator built into the superstructure. The elevator is used in ports without roll-on ramps allowing service to ordinary docks. ''Tustumena'' is the only other ferry with this feature. The ship struck a

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...

in mid 2014.No Charges after Ship Killed Humpback Whale
September 10, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennicott Alaska Marine Highway System vessels 1998 ships Ships built in Gulfport, Mississippi