Meet Alaska Marine Highway Port Captain, James Davison, and his oldest friend the MV Tustumena

Meet Alaska Marine Highway Port Captain, James Davison, and his oldest friend the MV Tustumena, who is taking a break to freshen up for the summer season at JAG Shipyard in Seward. Tusty was born in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 1964, the same year of the Great Alaskan Earthquake, and was named after a beautiful glacier.

The trusted Tustumena is the smallest AMHS vessel with passenger cabins and is one of only two certified ocean class ferries in the Alaska Marine Highway System fleet. For comfort and safety, the ship is equipped with gyroscopic fin stabilizers to reduce rolling (it’s really cool you have no idea).

The MV Tustumena is 296 feet long and 59 feet wide, with a domestic gross tonnage of 2,174 and a service speed of 13.3 knots, just in case you were wondering.

More info about Tusty here: https://dot.alaska.gov/amhs/fleet/tustumena.shtml

Photo: Kaitlin Williams AK DOT&PF