Opinion: Governor misses the boat on helping to fill ferry jobs

Published 1:30 am Thursday, February 26, 2026

If the governor really wanted to improve state ferry service for the 33 coastal communities that depend on the ships, he would get out of his office and go on a national recruiting tour to help find new hires to fill the crew vacancies that jeopardize service.

The crew shortage started during Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s first year in office, when he cut the Alaska Marine Highway System budget, driving workers to leave for other jobs or retire. The ferries have never fully recovered from the kick in the propeller end, though the state has closed the gap somewhat.

As of Jan. 26, the Marine Highway System still was short several dozen licensed and unlicensed crew from full staffing, plus a few dozen more when you add in the relief crew needed to cover for temporary staff absences.

The governor could use his stature and in-person presence to attract attention — and possible job applicants — by visiting high schools in Alaska and across the country, vocational colleges, and all six state maritime academies on the East, West and Gulf coasts.

The governor could go on Fox News to promote Alaska Marine Highway System jobs instead of promoting President Donald Trump’s agenda, which bounces around more than the cross-gulf ferry to the Aleutians in rough seas.

He could stop at schools, job fairs and seafaring communities as he comes and goes to Washington, D.C., on his political voyages.

He could give up spending any more time on his ill-timed fiscal plan legislation, which came too late anyway in the 87th month of his 96-month tenure as Alaska governor.

He could ride the Washington State Ferries and hand out job applications.

Anything would be better than nothing.

As of January, the Alaska ferry system was short 59 crew members to reach full staffing for its fleet. For the 49th state, that means overtime for workers on the job, and it means scheduled sailings are at risk if a vessel cannot meet U.S. Coast Guard minimum staffing requirements.

The Marine Highway System is entering its eighth year of short staffing, treading water and keeping the Kennicott out of service for the fourth summer in a row due to a shortage of crew.

Better pay and a real pension plan would go a long way to restore the attractiveness of working for the state ferries. Neither of those appear likely under this governor, but maybe he would be willing to hand out job applications as he shakes hands.

It’s time to try the personal touch to confront a serious personnel shortage.

Larry Persily is a longtime Alaska journalist, with breaks for federal, state and municipal public policy work in Alaska and Washington, D.C. He lives in Anchorage and is publisher of the Wrangell Sentinel weekly newspaper.