KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska state ferry out of service since last fall for an overhaul of its engines had its return voyage interrupted by oil pump issue.
The Ketchikan Daily News reports (http://is.gd/NVQb0k) the ferry Columbia was to have returned to service this week.
But the ferry remains sidelined in Bellingham, Washington, waiting for a replacement for an engine oil pump to be shipped from Finland.
The Alaska Department of Transportation now expects the 418-foot ferry to be back in service in Ketchikan next Wednesday.
The ship has been at the Vigor Marine Yard in Portland, Oregon, since September, undergoing a nearly $30 million engine replacement project. The ship departed Portland last weekend en route to Ketchikan. However, on Tuesday, the oil pump issue surfaced.
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Information from: Ketchikan (Alaska) Daily News, http://www.ketchikandailynews.com
