Shipping a car to or from Alaska

Shipping a car to or from Alaska means water. The road system does not connect the Lower 48 to Anchorage or to Southeast Alaska in a way a car carrier can simply drive. The fact that picks the price is which water service fits: a roll-on ship that takes the car without you, a barge, or the state ferry you ride. Those are different companies, different ports, and different rules for electric cars. None of them is the open-trailer estimate used for a Seattle-to-Los Angeles haul.

No truck-lane price is printed here.

The operators and the ports#

TOTE Maritime Alaska's vehicle page says it transports cars, RVs, boats, and travel trailers between Tacoma and Anchorage, twice a week, year round, with about three days of transit and cargo availability it describes as four days. It names the ships Midnight Sun and North Star and says vehicles ride below deck, loaded roll-on/roll-off. The terminal page lists Tacoma at 500 East Alexander Avenue and Anchorage at 2511 Tidewater Road, with published vehicle-gate hours. TOTE says drop-off cutoffs can vary and tells you to confirm them. The vehicle page says every vehicle must be under 900 cubic feet, that you must measure hitches, antennas, mirrors, and modifications, and that motorcycles are not accepted. It says that effective 1 August 2025 TOTE no longer accepts electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids because of fire risk at sea, and that it still accepts mild hybrids that do not need electric power during transit. TOTE publishes a size-based rate table on that page. Read the current table there. The dollars are not repeated here, and they are not a RideShipper price.

Matson's car page lists Alaska ports at Anchorage, Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor, and says Tacoma handles Alaska, Guam, and Saipan vehicles. It publishes a transit range of 3 to 7 days to Alaska from Tacoma, with notes you should open. Matson says it has suspended EVs and plug-in hybrids on its vessels.

Alaska Marine Lines describes barge service from Seattle to Central Alaska, Southeast Alaska, and Western Alaska, and it also lists Seattle receiving for Hawaii. It is a barge operation, not TOTE's Tacoma-Anchorage vehicle schedule. Ask AML which of your cargo types it will take to which port. Do not assume a personal car is accepted at every barge landing because the homepage names a region.

The Alaska Marine Highway System says its ferries cover 3,500 miles of coastline and serve more than 30 communities from Bellingham, Washington, to Dutch Harbor. It says it can carry wheeled vehicles that roll on and roll off, and that limits differ by vessel and dock, so you must measure accurately. You are a passenger. Animals, if allowed, are restricted to the car deck. If you connect through Whittier, AMHS tells you to check the tunnel schedule, because you can miss the sailing if the tunnel is not open to vehicles. Reservations are through the ferry, including the phone number it publishes, 1-800-642-0066.

What to have ready#

1. A booking with the operator whose port you can actually reach. Tacoma is not Seattle. Anchorage is not Juneau.
2. The fuel state that operator and 49 CFR 176.905 require. The regulation limits a flammable-liquid tank to one-fourth full for loading on a vessel, with other conditions and exceptions in the section. The carrier's sheet may be stricter.
3. A car the vessel will accept. PHMSA's April 2023 advisory says a vehicle with leakage, an electrical fault such as failure to start or move under its own power, or prolonged water exposure is forbidden on a vessel. TOTE's and Matson's EV suspensions are separate and narrower: they name EVs and plug-in hybrids.
4. Measurements, including anything sticking off the vehicle, before you are in the gate line.
5. Time for the ferry if that is the plan. A vehicle reservation is not a walk-on ticket. AMHS says vehicle check-in can be earlier than the passenger check-in.
6. A mainland plan only if the car must first reach Tacoma, Seattle, or Bellingham. That road leg is a separate hire. It ends at the terminal.

What to ask, and the mistakes#

Ask which sailing, which terminal, and whether your exact vehicle is accepted. Ask about a non-runner before you arrive. Ask the ferry about your vehicle's height for the specific ship. Ask nothing of a highway quote box about the Gulf of Alaska.

The mistake is paying a Lower 48 broker for "door to Anchorage" and discovering the price never included a ship. Another is arriving with an EV after the operator's cutoff date. Another is treating Southeast Alaska, Kodiak, and Anchorage as one port. They are not. A military POV still starts with the transportation office, on the military page, not with a commercial sailing you booked first.

Limits#

These operators can refuse a motorcycle, an EV, an oversized vehicle, or a car that misses the gate. The ferry can sell out of vehicle space. RideShipper does not book TOTE, Matson, AML, or AMHS, does not set their fares, and does not insure the car on the water. World Media Group LLC operates a continental quote service. A highway request that stops at a Washington port is the only piece that belongs in that system, and only after the water booking exists.

Pick the port on the operator's own page, then ask whether your car is allowed on the next sailing. The rural and remote page is what happens after the car is already in Alaska and still has to reach a community the ship does not serve.