MV Fairweather


The M/V Fairweather is a fast ferry catamaran in the Alaska Marine Highway System.
It was built by Derecktor Shipyards in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 2003 and 2004, and began service on June 8 of the latter year. It is powered by four diesel engines and water jets for a service speed of 32 knots which is similar to her sister ship, the M/V Chenega.

Route

The Fairweather was originally planned to exclusively create a Sitka-Juneau high speed ferry link, with the ferry homeported in Sitka. However, the state changed its plans and decided to homeport the ferry in Juneau, creating an uproar in Sitka. Unlike mainline and feeder vessels that operate 24 hours a day, the Fairweather are day boats only, thus offering a complement of jobs and economic stimulus to whichever community homeports the boat. Eventually the Fairweather's planned route was changed again to serve the Lynn Canal. This route was used throughout 2004 and the summer season of 2005. However, the state decided to change the ferry's route again for the winter 2005 schedule and run the Fairweather on an exclusive Juneau-Petersburg route. This is coordinated with the M/V Chenega running a dedicated Ketchikan-Wrangell-Petersburg route to effectively create a marine link between Ketchikan and Juneau in the winter season. Since 2006, the Fairweather has returned to serving Haines, Skagway, and Sitka from its port in Juneau.
As of May, 2019 the Fairweather joins the MV Chenega in Ward Cove in Ketchican, Alaska. It is expected that they will both be put up for sale..