# MV Wickersham

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Wickersham at the Seattle in 1974 History Sweden Name Stena Britannica[1] Owner Stena Line[1] Route Kiel-Gothenburg[1] Builder A/S Langesunds Mek[1] Launched 1967[1] Fate Sold to Alaska Marine Highway United States Name Wickersham Namesake James Wickersham Owner Alaska Marine Highway System Port of registry United States Route Seattle (WA), Prince Rupert (BC), Haines, Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka Acquired by purchase, April 1968 Commissioned 1968 Decommissioned 1974 Identification IMO number: 6717148 Fate Sold to Sally Line Finland Name Viking 6 [2] Owner Sally Line[1] Operator Viking Line[2] Route Stockholm-Helsinki[2] In service 1974[2] Out of service 1980[2] France Name Goelo Owner Sally Line[2] Operator Brittany Ferries[2] Route Portsmouth-St Malo[2] Commissioned 1980[2] Decommissioned 1982[2] Fate Sold to Sol Lines Cyprus Name Sol Olympia Owner Sol Lines[2] Operator Sol Lines[2] Route Venice-Haifa[2] Commissioned 1982[2] Decommissioned 1985[2] Fate Reverted to AB Sally after Sol Lines bankruptcy Finland Name Sun Express Owner Sally Line[1] Operator Viking Line[2] In service 1985[2] Out of service 1986[2] Renamed Viking 6 Italy Name Moby Dream Owner Moby Lines[1] In service 1986[2] Out of service 1994[2] Italy Name Sardegna Bella Owner Moby Lines[1] Operator Sardegna Lines In service 1994[2] Fate Scrapped in 2001[2] General characteristics Length 363 ft (111 m) Decks One vehicle deck Ramps Bow Ice class 1B Capacity 1,300 passengers

**MV *Wickersham*** was a mainline [ferry](/source/Ferry) vessel for the [Alaska Marine Highway](/source/Alaska_Marine_Highway). *Wickersham* was the second vessel, after the [MV *Chilkat*](/source/MV_Chilkat), in the Alaska Marine Highway fleet to not have been constructed specifically for AMHS, but was rather acquired for from the [Stena Line](/source/Stena_Line), where it was known as the ***Stena Britannica*** and served the [Kiel](/source/Kiel), [Germany](/source/Germany)–[Gothenburg](/source/Gothenburg), [Sweden](/source/Sweden) route. Constructed just one year prior to its purchase by AMHS in April 1968, her arrival and status as an "oceangoing" vessel allowed AMHS to expand the southern terminus of its route system south to [Washington](/source/Washington_(U.S._state)) and the [Port of Seattle](/source/Port_of_Seattle).

*Stenna Britannica*

Due to the [Passenger Services Act](/source/Passenger_Vessel_Services_Act_of_1886) and laws of [cabotage](/source/Cabotage), however, the *Wickersham* could only undergo its Washington-Alaska voyages with an intermediate stop in [Prince Rupert, British Columbia](/source/Prince_Rupert%2C_British_Columbia). Further complicating her service was her complicated bow unloading system which was only compatible with AMHS ports in [Haines](/source/Haines%2C_Alaska), [Juneau](/source/Juneau%2C_Alaska), [Ketchikan](/source/Ketchikan%2C_Alaska), and [Sitka](/source/Sitka%2C_Alaska), in addition to the ports of Seattle and Prince Rupert. Her large size and draft which served her well in the turbulent waters of [Dixon Entrance](/source/Dixon_Entrance) and other exposed portions of the Alaska-Washington voyage, were too great to slip through passages of water such as [Peril Strait](/source/Peril_Strait) en route to Sitka, which forced her to approach Sitka from the outer coast of [Baranof Island](/source/Baranof_Island) and through the [Pacific Ocean](/source/Pacific_Ocean).

*Wickersham* at the [Prince Rupert](/source/Prince_Rupert%2C_British_Columbia) terminal in 1970

*Viking 6* at [Emden](/source/Emden) in April 1975

With the debut of the [*Columbia*](/source/MV_Columbia), the marine highway's new flagship vessel, in 1974, the *Wickersham* was sold to the Finland-based [Rederi Ab Sally](/source/Rederi_Ab_Sally) as the *Viking 6*, where she sailed from [Stockholm](/source/Stockholm) to [Helsinki](/source/Helsinki) under the [Viking Line](/source/Viking_Line) brand.

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-SitNews1_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-SitNews1_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-SitNews1_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-SitNews1_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-SitNews1_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-SitNews1_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-SitNews1_1-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-SitNews1_1-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-SitNews1_1-8) Kiffer, Dave (October 11, 2006). ["The Wickersham sailed on after leaving Alaska"](http://www.sitnews.us/Kiffer/Wickersham/101106_wickersham.html). *Sit News*. Retrieved June 25, 2013.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-9) [***k***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-10) [***l***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-11) [***m***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-12) [***n***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-13) [***o***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-14) [***p***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-15) [***q***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-16) [***r***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-17) [***s***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-18) [***t***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-19) [***u***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-20) [***v***](#cite_ref-simp1_2-21) ["Stena Britannica"](http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Viking_Viking_6.html#anchor236020). *Simplon Postcards; The Passenger Ship Website*. Retrieved June 25, 2013.

v t e Alaska Marine Highway System Vessels Aurora Columbia LeConte Lituya Kennicott Tazlina Tustumena Malaspina Matanuska Retired Vessels Bartlett Chenega Chilkat Fairweather Taku Wickersham Hubs Ketchikan Juneau Whittier Homer Other ports Akutan Angoon Bartlett Cove/Glacier Bay Bellingham Chenega Bay Chignik Cold Bay Cordova False Pass Haines Homer Hoonah Kake King Cove Metlakatla Petersburg Port Lions Prince Rupert Sand Point Seldovia Sitka Skagway Tatitlek Tenakee Springs Dutch Harbor/Unalaska Valdez Whittier Wrangell Yakutat Website: dot.alaska.gov/amhs/

## External links

- Kiffer, Dave. ["SitNews - The 'Wickersham' sailed on after leaving Alaska"](http://www.sitnews.us/Kiffer/Wickersham/101106_wickersham.html). www.sitnews.us. Retrieved 2009-10-04.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [MV Wickersham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Wickersham) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Wickersham?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.