ALASKAN MARINE HIGHWAY UNINSURED

PRINCE RUPERT, British Columbia-The Alaska Marine Highway System does not have insurance to cover the up to $3 million in costs it sustained after Canadian fishermen blockaded an Alaskan ferry.

"There is no insurance protection in place for a blockade or for civil disobedience," said a spokeswoman for Gov. Tony Knowles.

The costs that the state-run ferry incurred include alternative transportation for ferry riders on the blockaded ferry Malaspina and the chartering and purchase of other vessels to board the fishermen's boats to read an injunction against the blockade, she said.

The three-day blockade stemmed from a fishing dispute between Canadian and Alaskan salmon fishermen.

The Canadian fishermen charge that Alaskans are violating fishing agreements by overfishing salmon in the Pacific Northwest.