Despite an expanded budget (see Pacific Maritime Magazine, May 2020) the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) does not plan to expand ferry service until COVID-19 travel restrictions are relaxed and demand for passenger service increases.
As of the end of April the ferry system was only operating two services, one linking Southeast communities around the Upper Lynn Canal and a shuttle operation between Ketchikan and Metlakatla. Sailings to Pelican and Tenakee Springs, which were to have been resumed in May, have been canceled, as have runs between Valdez and Cordova on Prince William Sound, and there is currently no connection to the Lower 48 through Bellingham.
