third set of main engines with which Matanuska has been equipped. In 2018 they replaced two MaK 9M453B 3,620 hp engines, which were installed in 1985. Her original engines were manufactured by the Enterprise Engine & Foundry division of General Metals Corporation. She has two four-bladed variable-pitch propellers, and a bow thruster to improve maneuverability. Matanuska normally sails with a crew of 48. There are crew quarters aboard so the ship can embark multiple watches for longer trips. All Alaska Marine Highway System ships are named after glaciers. Matanuska is named for the Matanuska Glacier in the Chugach Mountains. Governor Egan announced the new name on September 4, 1962. Operating history Matanuska's first route was from Prince Rupert, B.C, one end of the North American road network, to Skagway, with stops in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau, and Haines. Passengers who travelled the entire 30-hour trip paid $30 plus another $7.50 if they wanted a berth. Cars embarking at Prince Rupert paid $118 to reach Haines, where they could once again connect to mainland roads, or $122.50 to go through to Skagway at the end of the line. She began her operational career on June 10, 1963 when she embarked 154 passengers and 45 cars at Prince Rupert. The initial public response to Matanuska was positive. During her first month of commercial operation, from June 15 to July 15, she carried 6,496 passengers and 1,302 vehicles. The Alaska Marine Highway System as a whole reached its four-year forecast for passenger boardings in the first six months of operation. Ferry traffic peaked during the summer months when tourists visited Alaska, so routine maintenance on Matanuska has generally been scheduled during the winter months. For example, on January 6, 1964 she left Ketchikan for shipyards in Seattle. She stopped at Lake Union Drydock Company for the installation of additional staterooms, Todd shipyards for equipment overhauls, and back to her builder, Puget Sound Bridge and Dry Dock, for warranty work. As in this 1964 maintenance interval, much of her routine maintenance during her early decades was done in Washington shipyards. As Alaska Ship and Drydock in Ketchikan became more capable, some of this work was done in-state. A $5.1 million contract for Matanuska's winter 2001 work was the largest contract ever received by the company at that time. In December of 1967 Matanuska inaugurated direct ferry service between the Lower 48 and Alaska.