M/V ''Taku'' is a ''Malaspina''-class mainline vessel built for the Alaska Marine Highway System. The ship has been retired and was sold to a Dubai-based company for $171,000. The owner sought to sell the ferry internationally, and was unsuccessful, and it was last seen beached in

Alang Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Because it is home to the Alang Ship Breaking Yard, Alang beaches are considered the world's largest ship graveyard. Demographics As of the 2001 Indian census, Al ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, to be scrapped.

History

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington, the M/V ''Taku'' is named after Taku Glacier which is located just southeast of

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 ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, and has been in the ferry system for over forty years. In 1981, the ''Taku'' received a major refurbishment and was in service steadily until the summer of 2015 when she was laid up due to budget considerations. The AMHS subsequently announced that it would retire the vessel in preparation for sale or scrapping.AMHS focus of SE Conference
Bowman, Nick. '' Ketchikan Daily News'', 25 February 2017

Role

As a mainline ferry, ''Taku'' served the larger of the inside passage communities (such as Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Sitka), its route primarily stayed between Ketchikan and Skagway in

Southeast Alaska Southeast Alaska, often abbreviated to southeast or southeastern, and sometimes called the Alaska(n) panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian provi ...

. The M/V ''Taku'' was the largest of the three AMHS vessels able to serve the communities of Hoonah and

Kake KAKE (channel 10) is a television station in Wichita, Kansas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on West Street in northwestern Wichita, and its transmitter is located i ...

and because of this served as a critical component of providing transportation out of Hoonah and Kake after the "milk run" ferry, the hit a rock and went into

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

Amenities

The ''Taku''s amenities included a hot-food cafeteria; bar; solarium; forward, aft, recliner, movie, and business lounges; gift shop; 8 four-berth cabins; and 36 two-berth cabins.

Accidents and Incidents

* On April 23rd, 1963 the ''Taku'' struck a rock outside Petersburg in a minus tide. She returned to service on May 3rd. * On August 8th, 1963 two boys entered the wheelhouse when the ''Taku'' was preparing to leave Petersburg, and engaged the engines. The resulting damage to the dock left the vehicle loading ramp out of commission for three months. * On July 29th, 1970, the ''Taku'' ran aground on Kinihan Island, outside of

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

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. All passengers on board were evacuated safely, and the cars were transferred to the BC Ferry ''

MV Queen of Prince Rupert MV ''Queen of Prince Rupert'' was a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferry operated by BC Ferries that provided the main surface transport link between the Queen Charlotte Islands and mainland British Columbia, connecting Skidegate with Prince Rupert, Briti ...

'' Cohen (1994), p. 16

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Official Alaska Marine Highway System website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taku Former Alaska Marine Highway System vessels 1962 ships Ships built by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company