Inter-Island Ferry Authority

The Inter-Island Ferry Authority (IFA) is a ferry service in the U.S. state of Alaska with its headquarters based in Craig on Prince of Wales Island.

History

The Inter-Island Ferry Authority was created in 1997 by the Prince of Wales Island communities of Klawock, Craig, Thorne Bay, Coffman Cove in addition to the communities of Petersburg and Wrangell. By 1998, the state Department of Transportation was behind the idea of a shuttle ferry service between Prince of Wales Island and outlying communities and soon the Alaska Congressional delegation secured funding for two day boats to seed the ferry authority. In 2002, the first vessel, the M/V "Prince of Wales", inaugurated service between Hollis and Ketchikan, and in 2006, the M/V "Stikine" followed suit with a northerly route.

Traffic

One of the primary reasons for the creation of the authority was the spotty service to Prince of Wales Island provided by the Alaska Marine Highway System, which, while regular, was often placed at inconvenient times, specifically the regular occurrence of ferries near midnight, to the annoyance of many island residents. In its last two years of operation to Prince of Wales Island (on the same Hollis-Ketchikan route the IFA operates) it averaged 38,615 passengers and 10,644 vehicles annually. In the IFA, on its first year of operation, carried 54,906 passengers and 14,156 vehicles. ["Juneau Empire": [http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/051406/opi_20060514006.shtml "Inter-Island Ferry Authority shows way"] by Lew Williams, Jr. Retrieved August 5, 2007.]

Routes and vessels

The Inter-Island Ferry Authority administers two vessels, each with its own daily route:
*M/V "Prince of Wales" — Hollis*-Ketchikan†-Hollis (the trip occurs twice daily during summer months)
*M/V "Stikine" — Coffman Cove*-Wrangell†-Petersburg†-Wrangell-Coffman Cove* Denotes the vessels' homeport.
† Denotes a community where connections to the Alaska Marine Highway are available.

Although Hollis and Coffman Cove are the only Prince of Wales Island communities to receive direct service from the ferries, since the most of the island is connected by a network of logging industry-era roads, the ferry service also serves the Prince of Wales Island communities of Craig, Hydaburg, Kasaan, Klawock, Nautaki, Thorne Bay, and Whale Pass.

References

ee also

*BC Ferries, a ferry service similar to the IFA just south of Alaska in British Columbia, Canada

External links

* [http://www.interislandferry.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.interislandferry.com/map.html Route map]