newsminer.com

JUNEAU -- The return to service of the state ferry Columbia is being delayed after a major overhaul.

But officials with the Alaska Marine Highway System say few people will be affected.

The Columbia had been scheduled to resume sailing on May 9, but now is set to return to service on May 16.

The Columbia - the flagship of the state fleet - has gone through mechanical and electrical problems and left service a month early last year for an overhaul during the winter.

Transportation department spokesman Roger Wetherell says design engineers discovered that fire control and boundary systems in the crew space heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems were inadequate.