A proposed one-year pilot project would re-establish direct passenger and freight ferry service between Sitka and the villages of Angoon, Kake, Tenakee Springs and Hoonah.

The new ferry runs would supplement the Sitka Marine Highway System, which dropped direct service between Sitka and the villages
in recent years. Travelers currently have to go through Juneau.

The Borough Assembly is expected to decide next month whether to
endorse the proposal, after City Administrator Jim Dinley meets with the Sitka Tribe of Alaska. The STA wants to know if the service would be sustainable, whether federal funding for the project would affect other tribal enterprises, and how the service would coordinate with the Alaska Marine Highway System.