Tentative deal reached to end Alaska ferry boat strike - federal mediator

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Contract negotiators between striking Alaska ferry boat workers and state officials have reached a tentative deal to end a 9-day-old walkout that has shut down the state Maritime Highway System, a federal mediator said on Friday.

About 420 members of the Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific (IBU) walked off the job on July 24, idling a ferry network that serves more than 30 coastal and island communities statewide. It was the first strike against the Alaska Maritime Highway System in 42 years.

(Reporting by Yereth Rosen; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Sandra Maler)