The M/V Susitna hasn't sold, but should start costing the Borough less.

The Mat-Su Borough is still the owner of the M/V Susitna.  This week, the Anchorage Daily News reported that the Borough had rejected a two million dollar offer from a shipping firm in Abu Dhabi.  According to ADN, Borough Manager John Moosey says that the Borough is not willing to sell the ferry for less than six million dollars, which is the amount that would have to be repaid to the Federal Transit Authority if the navy prototype vessel were to be sold to anyone but another government entity.

For now, the Susitna has been put into “wet lay-up” for the winter, meaning it will stay in Ward Cove, but will be partially mothballed to minimize staffing, fuel, and maintenance costs.  Judging by the funding resolution passed by the Borough Assembly on Tuesday, the procedure could cut the upkeep costs by more than half.  The wet lay-up was considered less risky than a complete dry-docking of the 198-foot ferry.