MV Malaspina

{{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=Heading south 148.JPG |image_caption=M/V Malaspina }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country= |flag= |name=''Malaspina'' |namesake=[[Malaspina Glacier]], [[Yakutat, Alaska]] |owner=[[Image:Flag of Alaska.svg|20px]] [[Alaska Marine Highway System]] |operator= |registry={{flag|United States}} |route= |ordered= |awarded= |builder=[[Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company|Lockheed Shipbuilding]], [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]] |original_cost= |yard_number= |way_number= |laid_down= |launched=1963 |sponsor= |christened= |completed= |acquired= |commissioned= |decommissioned=December 2019 |maiden_voyage= |in_service= |out_of_service=June 1, 2022 |renamed= |reclassified= |refit=1972 |struck= |reinstated= |homeport= [[Juneau, Alaska]] |identification=*{{IMO Number|5218183}} *{{MMSI Number|367143000}} *[[Maritime call sign|Callsign]]: WI6803 |motto= |nickname= |status= |notes= |badge= }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class= ''Malaspina''-class mainline ferry |type= |tonnage= |displacement= {{convert|5552|LT|t|0|lk=in|abbr=on}} |length= {{convert|408|ft|m|abbr=on}} |beam= {{convert|74|ft|m|abbr=on}} |height= |draft={{convert|16|ft|9.96|in|m|abbr=on}} |depth= |hold_depth= |decks=One vehicle deck |deck_clearance= |ramps= Aft, port, and starboard [[Roll-on/roll-off|ro-ro]] loading |ice_class= |power={{convert|8000|hp|0|abbr=on}} |propulsion= |speed= {{convert|16.5|kn|lk=in}} |range= |endurance= |boats= |capacity=*500 passengers *88 vehicles |crew= |notes= }} }} '''MV ''Malaspina''''', colloquially known as the '''''Mal''''', is a mainline [[ROPAX]] [[ferry]] and the original ''Malaspina''-class vessel for the [[Alaska Marine Highway System]]. ''Malaspina'' is named after the [[Malaspina Glacier]], which, in turn, is named after Captain Don [[Alessandro Malaspina]], an Italian navigator and explorer who explored the northwest coast of North America in 1791. ''Malaspina'' is nearly identical to her sister ship, [[MV Matanuska|MV ''Matanuska'']].

''Malaspina'' was designed by [[Philip F. Spaulding]] and Associates, constructed in 1963 at the [[Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company|Lockheed Shipbuilding]] yards in [[Seattle]], Washington, and elongated in 1972 at the [[Willamette Iron and Steel]] Company in [[Portland, Oregon]]. As a mainline ferry, she served the larger of the [[Inside Passage]] communities, such as [[Ketchikan, Alaska|Ketchikan]], [[Petersburg, Alaska|Petersburg]], and [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]], but her route spanned the entirety of the Inside Passage, beginning runs in either [[Bellingham, Washington]], or [[Prince Rupert, British Columbia]], Canada, and running to the northernmost [[Alaskan Panhandle]] community of [[Skagway, Alaska|Skagway]]. From the late 1990s until being laid up in 2019, ''Malaspina'' operated mostly during the summers as a "dayboat" in the upper [[Lynn Canal]], making daily round trips between [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]] and Skagway with stops in [[Haines, Alaska|Haines]].

''Malaspina''{{'}}s amenities included a hot-food [[cafeteria]], a [[Sunroom|solarium]], forward, aft, movie, and business lounges, 54 four-berth cabins, and 29 two-berth cabins. She formerly had a [[gift shop]], but it was closed in 2014 as a cost-saving measure.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ktoo.org/2014/03/12/alaska-marine-highway-ferry-gift-shops-to-close/ |title=Marine highway to close ferry gift shops |work=ktoo.org |last=Schoenfeld |first=Ed |date=March 12, 2014 |access-date=August 15, 2014}}</ref>

On June 1, 2022, the [[Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities]] announced that the ''Malaspina'' would be retired to Ketchikan, having been sold to M/V Malaspina, LLC for $128,250. The ship will be permanently moored in [[Ward Cove]], to be used as "worker housing and a potential maritime museum, and hopefully a training platform for students working towards a career in the maritime industry."<ref>https://dot.alaska.gov/comm/pressbox/arch2022/PR22-0024.shtml</ref><ref>Historic Alaskan ferry sold ''[[Ships Monthly]]'' October 2022 page 6</ref>

==See also== *[[Malaspina Expedition]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.ferryalaska.com Official Alaska Marine Highway System website] *[http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/fleet/malaspina.shtml MV Malaspina]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malaspina}} [[Category:Alaska Marine Highway System vessels]] [[Category:1963 ships]] [[Category:Ships built by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company]]