MV Tustumena

The MV Tustumena arriving Kodiak Alaska © Wayde Carroll Photography The vehicle elevator is used when the facilities do not allow for driving on / driving off directly to the car deck © Wayde Carroll Photography The Solarium is a place to sit, relax or sleep © Wayde Carroll Photography On the deck customers can take in the views © Wayde Carroll Photography 2 and 4 berth staterooms are available on board © Alaska Marine Highway System The other ocean going vessel that serves the Aleutian Chain and Southwest Alaska © Wayde Carroll Photography

The MV Tustumena is named after the Tustumena Glacier, located on the Kenai Peninsula. The vessel was designed by Phillip F. Spaulding and Associates of Seattle, Washington and constructed in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 1964. It was built with an elevator capable of loading and unloading vehicles without a ramp. In 1969 a prefabricated 54 foot mid-body section was added, lengthening the vessel to its current size. The MV Tustumena is the smallest AMHS vessel with 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. 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.

An image displaying the layout of the Side View on the <em>MV Tustumena</em>

The MV Tustumena is designed to carry 160 passengers and has a vehicle capacity of 680 linear feet, which is equal to approximately 34 twenty-foot vehicles. There are 6 four-berth and 17 two-berth cabins, as well as 1 wheelchair-accessible cabin. The Tustumena is equipped with a dining room offering sit down food service, observation lounges, a covered heated solarium, a movie lounge, and showers. Click on the image to start a slideshow of all deck plans on the MV Tustumena or view our Vessel Information Table for more statistical information.