View source for MV LeConte

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|Ship image= [[File:Ferry heads up Lynn Canal on Sunny day.jpg|300px|MV LeConte]]
|Ship caption= ''LeConte'' heads into Auke Bay in Juneau, Alaska
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|Ship name=''LeConte''
|Ship namesake=[[LeConte Glacier]] near [[Petersburg, Alaska|Petersburg]], [[Alaska]]
|Ship owner=[[Image:Flag of Alaska.svg|20px]] [[Alaska Marine Highway System]]
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|Ship registry={{flag|United States}}
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|Ship builder=Peterson Shipbuilders, [[Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin|Sturgeon Bay]], [[Wisconsin]]
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|Ship launched= 1973 
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|Ship commissioned= 1974
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|Ship homeport=[[Juneau, Alaska]]
|Ship identification=*{{IMO Number|7318925}}
*{{MMSI Number|338761000}}
*[[Maritime call sign|Callsign]]: WZE4270
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|Ship status={{Ship in active service}}
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship displacement= {{convert|2132|LT|t|0|lk=in|abbr=on}}  
|Ship length= {{convert|235|ft|m|abbr=on}}  
|Ship beam= {{convert|57|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship draft={{convert|13|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}  
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|Ship ramps=Aft, port, and starboard [[RORO|ro-ro]] loading 
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|Ship power= Two Caterpillar 3412, rated for 467kW at 1800rpm
|Ship propulsion= Two EMD 645F7B {{convert|2550|hp|0|abbr=on}} each {{convert|4300|hp|0|abbr=on}}SHP
|Ship steam= One Seattle Boiler SDW50M, two drum, D-type, rated {{convert|150|psi|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed= {{convert|14.5|kn|lk=in}}
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|Ship boats= Two life boats and Two Life Rafts
|Ship capacity=*250 passengers
*34 automobiles
|Ship crew=24 Billets
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'''MV ''LeConte''''' ({{IPAc-en|l|ə|ˈ|k|ɒ|n|t|eɪ}} {{respell|lə|KON|tay}}) is a feeder vessel for the [[Alaska Marine Highway System]], built in [[Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin|Sturgeon Bay]], [[Wisconsin]] in 1973 and commissioned in 1974 by Alaska's ferry system. ''LeConte'' is the older sister ship to [[MV Aurora (1977)|M/V ''Aurora'']], and both serve as feeder vessels that pick up passengers in small communities such as [[Hoonah, Alaska|Hoonah]] and take them to larger regional communities (this process is colloquially known as the "milk run"). 

The ''LeConte'' primarily serves the northern portion of the [[Alaskan Panhandle]] in between [[Sitka City and Borough, Alaska|Sitka]] and [[Juneau City and Borough, Alaska|Juneau]], but also occasionally ventures into Southeast Alaska as well. In a highly controversial and political change, however, the ''LeConte'' was turned into a day boat operated exclusively out of Juneau. This change cut service to the community of [[Pelican, Alaska|Pelican]] and to the hub of Sitka &mdash; home of the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Center, a hospital that solely serves the Native Alaskan community, the primary demographic of the ''Leconte'''s ports of call.
[[Image:LeConte Ferry Identification Bell 2300px.jpg|left|thumb|The [[ship's bell]], located at the front of the ship.]]

In the summer of 2005, the ''LeConte'' made a number of stops in [[Bartlett Cove]], which is one of the gateways of [[Glacier Bay National Park]].

The ''LeConte''{{'}}s amenities include a hot-food cafeteria, movie and forward observation lounges, and solarium. There are no cabins on the LeConte both because of its small size and the lack of demand due to its feeder route running times.

The ''LeConte'' and the M/V ''Aurora'' are the ''only'' AMHS vessels able to serve the communities of [[Angoon, Alaska|Angoon]], [[Pelican, Alaska|Pelican]], [[Tenakee Springs, Alaska|Tenakee Springs]], [[Hoonah, Alaska|Hoonah]] and [[Kake, Alaska|Kake]]. These vessels' small sizes make them both vital assets for the ferry system and the residents of these rural villages.

==Grounding==
On May 10, 2004, the M/V ''LeConte'' nearly sank after running aground on [[Cozian Reef]] in [[Peril Strait]] en route to Sitka. Eighty-six passengers and 23 crew were on board at the time and all safely evacuated the ship upon grounding. After a [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] response, passengers were evacuated via [[life raft]]s to nearby good samaritan vessels — most of them picked up by the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] [[Fisheries science|fishery]] [[research vessel]] {{ship|NOAAS|John N. Cobb||2}}<ref>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/cobb.htm noaa.gov AFSC Historical Corner: ''John N. Cobb'', Establishing a Rich Legacy nRetrieved August 25, 2018]</ref><ref>[http://www.sitnews.us/0504news/051004/051004_leconte.html Anonymous, "M/V LeConte Runs Aground, All Passengers Safe," sitnews.us, May 10, 2004 Retrieved August 25, 2018]</ref> — to be taken to Sitka and booms were laid out to encircle the stranded, empty vessel. Soon after, 23,000 gallons of fuel were pumped out of the fuel tanks and cars were transferred to a [[landing craft]] in an elaborate procedure. A salvage operation then began and the vessel was successfully escorted to Ketchikan's Alaska Ship and Dry Dock for repairs under tow after temporary patches were put onto the expansive gashes that compromised five separate compartments of the hull &mdash; enough to have sunk the ship had it been lifted off its perch on the reef. Only minor injuries were suffered and only during the evacuation of the boat. The ''LeConte'' has now been repaired and is back in service. It is widely agreed a more dire emergency could have resulted had the weather not been so accommodating during the entire salvage process, especially in light of the fact that the ''LeConte'' was already listing ten degrees and the tides in Peril Strait were already making the situation highly precarious.

After assessing the circumstances of the grounding, it was concluded operator error caused the incident (not the notorious tidal currents that Peril Strait is known for) and those in command of the vessel were fired from the ferry system.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|LeConte (ship, 1973)}}
* [http://www.ferryalaska.com Official Alaska Marine Highway System website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050512204032/http://akrrt.org/Archives/Response_Reports/AAR_Leconte_USCG_2004.pdf USCG LeConte grounding report and recommendations]
* [http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/051104/sta_ferry.shtml Newspaper article covering the LeConte's grounding]
* [http://absapps.eagle.org/safenet/record/record_vesseldetailsprinparticular?Classno=7404651&Accesstype=PUBLIC&ReferrerApplication=PUBLIC American Bureau of Shipping Record]

{{Alaska Marine Highway System}}
{{Spaulding Ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:LeConte}}
[[Category:Alaska Marine Highway System vessels]]
[[Category:1973 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built by Peterson Builders]]