Vessel Traffic Overview

Updated:October 9, 2009 14:57

Passenger Vessel Traffic in the Aleutians Subarea

 

Figure 12 shows the routes of cruise ships and the Alaska Marine Highway ferry in the Aleutians Subarea. Table 6 shows which passenger vessels operated in the Aleutians Subarea in 2005.

In 2005 and 2006, four large cruise ships called at Dutch Harbor during their ‘positioning voyages’ each year. The small cruise ship Clipper Odyssey made one cruise to the Aleutians and the Spirit of Oceanus made six Aleutian voyages in 2006. The cruise industry does not anticipate significant growth in the Aleutian market.

The Tustumena is an Alaska Marine Highway vessel that makes voyages from Homer to Dutch Harbor each year from May through September. In 2006, during these months, the Tustumena made eleven round trips through the Eastern Aleutians stopping at Dutch Harbor, Akutan, Cold Bay, False Pass, King Cove, Sand Point, Chignik, Port Lions, and Kodiak.

Overall, passenger vessels are a minor component of the vessel traffic in the Aleutians Subarea. Only 3 to 4 large cruise ships will make one port call each in the Aleutians Subarea but, as noted, they carry relatively large volumes of persistent fuel oil.