Alaska. In 2009, one official commented that ticket sales on Fairweather did not even cover her fuel costs. State funding for the ferry system peaked in the 2012 fiscal year at $111.2 million and was gradually reduced to $56 million in 2020, in part forced by a reduction in state tax revenues from oil extraction. Passenger traffic on the ferry system fell from 350,000 in 1998 to 251,000 in 2018, as more travelers opted for air travel. Car and truck traffic on the ferries remained stable. All of these factors put Fairweather at a disadvantage. Her high speed could not compete with airlines, and produced higher operating costs than traditional ferries. Her high speed came at the sacrifice of carrying heavy loads, leaving her with more limited capacity for cars and trucks than traditional ferries. In late 2006, the Alaska Marine Highway System began a study for a new Lynn Canal ferry. This ultimately resulted in the construction of two Alaska-class ferries, MV Tazlina and MV Hubbard. In 2019 the Alaska Marine Highway System replaced Fairweather with MV Tazlina on the Juneau-Skagway-Haines route. While Tazlina requires twice as long to complete the round-trip as Fairweather, she can carry 53 cars instead of 31, and the state expects to save $400,000 per year in fuel costs. In October 2019 the State of Alaska issued a public notice seeking a broker to sell Fairweather. In March 2021 she was sold by the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities to Servicios y Concesiones Maritimas Ibicencas along with sister ship MV Chenega for service between Spain and Ibiza. Fairweather was sold for $2,063,333. Her new owner, ferry service Trasmapi, hired a heavy-lift ship, Red Zed 1, to carry the two ferries to Spain rather than having them sail there under their own power.Alaska Ferries off to Spain Ships Monthly May 2021 page 6 The two ships were loaded aboard Red Zed 1'' on June 25, 2021. Reference External links Alaska Marine Highway System vessels Ferries of Spain 2003 ships Ships built in Bridgeport, Connecticut