More cancellations of Bellingham run as Alaska ferry strike enters its second week
More Alaska ferry cancellations were announced as a labor strike enters its second week.
The Alaska Marine Highway System announced it has canceled sailings of the M/V Columbia into Bellingham through Wednesday, Aug. 7. When service resumes it will start as a Ketchikan-to-Bellingham run that day, then resume a normal northbound schedule. Several other runs in Alaska were also canceled for the first week of August.
On July 24 the Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific began its strike while seeking a new contract. The last official contract expired in 2017, with the workers operating under a series of interim agreements.
The idling of the Alaska ferry system is happening during the peak season for ferry travel. About 20,000 passengers travel between Bellingham and Alaska through this ferry connection each year.
