(JUNEAU, Alaska) – The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) is extending the sale of the M/V Taku and reducing the minimum bid price.

The deadline to submit bids is May 31, 2017 and the minimum bid price is $700,000. Interested bidders must have a bid bond of $5,000. The complete bid package is available on the state’s Online Public Notice website.

The original deadline to submit sealed bids was May 9, 2017 and the minimum bid price was $1.5 million.

ADOT&PF is selling the vessel “As Is/Where Is” to the highest bidder. The sale process involved getting Federal Highway Administration approval since federal funding was used to maintain the vessel over its lifespan.

Interested bidders have 21 days to submit bids, inspect the vessel if desired, and arrange financing if necessary. Sealed bids must be submitted by 3:00 p.m. Alaska Standard Time, on May 31, 2017. The vessel is currently at a mooring facility in Ward Cove in Ketchikan, Alaska.

The M/V Taku was determined to be excess to the needs of the state for ferry vessels and outside the realm of what the state can afford to maintain and operate in passenger service with available funding. The vessel was constructed in 1963 and faithfully operated as a part of the Alaska Marine Highway System for over 50 years. The M/V Taku was taken out of service on June 23, 2015.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities oversees 237 airports, 9 ferries serving 35 communities along 3,500 marine miles, over 5,600 miles of highway and 839 public facilities throughout the state of Alaska. The mission of the department is to “Keep Alaska Moving through service and infrastructure.”

# # #

Main Newsroom Page