Alaska governor offers to donate ferry to Philippines

Alaska local media reports that Governor Mike Dunleavy has expressed willingness to donate one of the state’s older, unused passenger ferries to the Philippine government.

The vessel being considered for donation to the Philippines is the Ro-Pax ferry Malaspina, which was built in 1963 and last sailed in 2019.

The ferry was placed in storage in late 2019 after the Alaska state government estimated that its planned upgrades will cost at least US$45 million. The upgrades would have included replacement of the engines as well as necessary steel works amounting to US$16 million.

The annual storage cost of US$450,000 originally prompted Mr Dunleavy to consider putting the ferry up for sale. However, the move to sell the vessel was ultimately abandoned due to a lack of interest from potential buyers.

The Philippine government has yet to issue an official response to Mr Dunleavy’s offer.

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