Backlash brewing in Alaska over proposed Rupert Terminal purchase

The plan that the Alaska Marine Highway System is proposing of late, to purchase the Fairview Bay Terminal from Prince Rupert is finding a bit of opposition on our northern flank.

One Alaskan lawmaker, Paul Seaton, is questioning why the System wants to run traffic through a Canadian port in the first place, let along purchase infrastructure in Rupert and own the terminal here.

Ed Schonfeld of Alaska Public radio, outlined some of the background on the bubbling issue. In the report, Seaton the state representative for Homer, suggests that the Ferry Systems plans to use Rupert as a southern terminus isn’t being greeting overwhelmingly by Alaskans. Many of whom it seems would prefer to see the ferry system sail through to Bellingham, Washington.

The AMHS has increased sailings on the Rupert runs, while reducing runs to Washington State, a situation that isn’t sitting well with some of Alaska’s travelling public. And while the sailings to Prince Rupert are not full, they are getting more use, making Rupert an important part of the future for the Ferry Service.

One of the key elements of using Rupert option is the ability to have more frequent sailings in southeast Alaska, a situation that would not be possible if Bellingham became the destination of choice for ferry users.

The state will continue to take input from the public until the end of July; they will weigh that input when it comes time to make decisions on the long term future of the Alaska Ferry service in Southeast Alaska, a decision which could have a major impact on Prince Rupert’s spot as the southern terminus.

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The proposed purchase of the Alaska Ferry Dock has been noted on our blog a number of times in the last little while.

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April 23-- Alaska Marine Highway still has Rupert Ferry dock on their purchase list

Jan 15-- Sittin' by the dock of the bay, waiting for the bills to flow away

Dec 19-- Don’t put the For Sale sign on the Alaska Ferry Dock just yet

Dec 17-- South to Alaska

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The full report, as well as a number of links to items of interest on the debate can be found on the KBRD website.

Can Governor Palin see Prince Rupert from her office?

The state of Alaska has its eye on a piece of land in Prince Rupert, hoping to take over the shoreline, terminal and dock that houses the Alaska Marine Highway location on the North coast.

The Alaska Ferry system chief Jim Beedle, claims that the Alaska system needs to takeover the dock in order to operate their system in an effective and successful manner, especially as Canada at the moment doesn’t seem inclined to spend the seven to eight million dollars that Alaska estimates is required for a proper repair and long term enhancement of the dock in Rupert.

On Alaska public radio, Beedle outlined the Alaska system’s wish to either purchase the dock or gain a long term and user friendly lease on the property, all in order to seek out American Federal funds to refurbish and improve the southern terminus of the Alaska system.

Details were provided in Governor Palin’s Capital budget for the Alaska Ferry system introduced last week in Juneau.

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The proposed Rupert Dock purchase was listed under the title of Terminal Acquisition, Reference Number 47871, the submission offers up the opinion that in the eyes of the Alaska Marine Highway System, taking over the terminal would be the best case scenario for long term success of the operation. (Read the submission here)

The proposed plan was outlined in a story from Alaska Public Radio which can be listened to here.

Alaska ferries to use BC Ferries dock until AMHS dock is repaired

While the City of Prince Rupert gets to work on repairs to the Alaska Marine Highway dock (and maybe some PR repairs for their relations with the Alaska Ferry Service), the Alaskan Ferries will be coming ashore via the BC Ferry dock at Fairview Bay.

As we posted last night here on the Podunk, the AMHS only last week received final word that the Rupert dock was no longer safe for use by the Alaska ferries that regularly call on the Fairview terminal, this was perhaps a wee bit of an irritant for our Alaska neighbours. As the tone of their press release suggested that they had made more than one attempt to find out the status of the dock over the last few months.

The impression left by their press release is that they were not seeming to receive the kind of feedback that they were hoping for from the city. A surprising thing, considering how much the city has tried to build the Alaska Ferries into our total tourism package.

The Daily News worked out some background on the story for Monday's paper including an interesting note that the issue was apparently to be introduced to council at last weeks meeting, however due to a lack of available councillors (only three apparently were willing and able to attend last Tuesday's session) the issue got bumped.

We're still a little puzzled here at the Podunkian listening post as to how the council meeting ended up at the cancelled stage, who was ready to get to work and who wasn't and more importantly if that meeting ever was made up. Surely there must be some newsworthy tidbits from last weeks non event, that the local media might be able to fill in some of the blanks on.

It would seem from this story that at least one bit of open city business seemed to slip through some cracks, considering the fact that Prince Rupert is finding out all of the details on the state of the Alaska Ferry Dock and our relations with AMHS through Alaskan sources.

Safety concerns put ferry service in jeopardy
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, March 31, 2008

Pages one and three

In a triumph of cooperation and adaptability, the Alaska ferry will keep sailing, despite a major problem with its dock in Prince Rupert.

The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) found out late last week that its was unable to dock its ferries in Prince Rupert after the city was forced to shut down its mooring facility because of safety concerns.

Roger Wetherell, chief communications officer with Alaska's Department of Transportation, said two sailings were canceled between Ketchikan, Alaska, and Prince Rupert, because of the problem after the city learned that the facility was unsafe.

However, the AMHS was given permission to try to use the B.C. Ferries terminal which is located next to the AMHS terminal and following tests this weekend, the AMHS found it could successfully dock and use the ramp system, so the Alaska ferry will be able to use the facilities while repairs are carried out to its dock.

"The vessel M/V Matanuska is transiting northbound from Washington and is scheduled to arrive in Prince Rupert Sunday at 3 a.m. and at that time, it will attempt to moor at the B.C. Ferries dock because we have received permission from B.C. Ferries to use their mooring facilities," said Wetherell before the successful trial on the weekend.

"The key factor is whether or not if our vessels will fit and the ramps will accommodate our vessels to the shore. We are sending a team of experts down to met the Matanuska when it arrives Sunday morning to analyze the situation and see if we can use the facility safely. If we can, great, we will use that as long as we are able to and if not we will go from there."

He noted the AMHS has been expressing its structural concerns to the City of Prince Rupert and the mayor's office for at least three months.

"We had repeatedly expressed concerns to the city and mayor's office and asked about having those concerns looked into through the means of an engineer's report. We wanted a study done to have the facilities checked for safety purposes."

"If there was any reason these facilities would not support the safety of passengers and crew we wanted to know to what degree," Wetherell said.

"They sent us those findings and they have since indicated to us they have shut down the use of facility. Since then, we have had to strategize and find an alternative means of mooring our vessels in Prince Rupert."

In the meantime, tourism season is just around the corner and the AMHS system has scheduled increased stops in Prince Rupert this summer, going from two stops in the winter to four stops per week starting in May.

"There would be increased ridership in Prince Rupert between May and September. We know that there are confirmed bookings between May and September that include 8,000 passengers and 3,000 vehicles and that, obviously, is in the balance," he said Friday. No one from the city, or the mayor's office was available for comment on Friday. See upcoming editions of the Daily News for more.

The city did have an engineer's survey conducted on the facility, although it was never presented to council. Council was set to receive a small report recommending the city amend its agreement with the AMHS last Monday and allow the AMHS to use the B.C. Ferries dock, but with only three council members in attendance, they didn't have quorum.

Fixing the dock facilities is on the list of this year's projects for the city, although it is unknown whether those plans will need to be expanded since receiving the engineers' report.

The city started the work on the dock in 2006 after the Alaska Marine Highway System noted extensive damage to pilings caused by a winter storm. However, the city was unable to complete the work in 2007 after the budget shortfall when it over-estimated its revenue by $5 million.

Prince Rupert set to fully fund repairs to Alaska State Ferry dock

An interesting excerpt from an Alaska Marine Highway service advisory from Friday seems to be letting us know (by way of Alaska) that it’s full steam ahead on repairs to the Alaska Ferry Dock at Fairview Bay, here are the important details from Commissioner Leo von Scheben :

"Nothing can ever interfere with the safety of the passengers and crew who trust us to ensure that they safely reach their destinations aboard Alaska’s ferries," von Scheben emphasized.

Late this afternoon, AMHS officials received assurance from Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond stating that his city would fully fund and complete the necessary repairs and upgrades for safe usage by May 26.

“The mayor’s assurance that the facility will be fixed and safely functional is very promising to us, and we hope this cooperation helps us maintain a solid business partnership with Prince Rupert and Mayor Pond,” said von Scheben

The service advisory/press release also has provided some details on the state of the Alaska Ferry dock at Fairview, a deteriorating structure which was deemed as unsafe on Thursday and which saw the cancellation of the Alaska Ferry Taku’s run into the city over the weekend.

The Alaska Ferry Dock has been an ongoing concern for a few months now, and judging by the content of the press release, it’s been a concern that the city was rather slow in providing Alaska with updates on. The press release of Friday seems to at least address that slight irritant in the relationship between the city and the AMHS.

The plan for the short term while the repairs take place (expected to be completed by May 26th) is for the Alaska Ferries to use the BC Ferries dock, providing the structure is compatible with their vessels. Alaska Marine Highway officials were sending an engineer up to Rupert over this weekend past to examine the dock to make sure that it was satisfactory for use with the Alaskan vessels.

The story has made news across America, as the state of the Prince Rupert dock has become filler material for newspapers as far as South Carolina. Here’s how the Fort Mills Times covered the story from its Alaskan sources.

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Perhaps if they find the time, the city of Prince Rupert could share the latest developments with its residents through it's website, at least letting us know that there's money to be spent and where we have to spend it...

Alaska ferry officials seek alternative for Prince Rupert dock

Fort Mills Times
(Published March 30, 2008)

JUNEAU, Alaska — City officials in Prince Rupert, the only Canadian port of call for Alaska state ferries, closed their dock after an engineer's report concluded it posed an unacceptable safety risk.

Alaska ferry officials hope to use a nearby BC Ferries dock.

The Alaska Department of Transportation is sending a professional engineer and a shore-side maintenance supervisor to determine if Alaska ferries can moor there safely.

The city-owned ferry dock in the British Columbia community had been a cause of concern to Alaska Department of Transportation officials, said assistant commissioner Dennis Hardy,
The agency repeatedly asked Prince Rupert officials for a thorough engineers' report, he said.
Alaska ferry officials on Friday received assurance from Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond that his city would pay for and complete repairs for the city dock by May 26.

"The mayor's assurance that the facility will be fixed and safely functional is very promising to us, and we hope this cooperation helps us maintain a solid business partnership with Prince Rupert and Mayor Pond," said Alaska Transportation Commissioner Leo von Scheben in a press release.

Two sailings of the Alaska ferry Taku, north and southbound between Skagway and Prince Rupert, have been canceled.

The Taku was to make all scheduled stops between Skagway and Ketchikan but would not continue south to Prince Rupert.

The Alaska ferry system plan calls for mooring the ferry Matanuska at the BC Ferries dock at 3 a.m. Sunday.

Hardy, who plans to resign May 16, is responsible for the plan to cut ferry service from Bellingham, Wash., through Alaska's Inside Passage to one trip per week instead of two.

He said ferry officials believed overflow traffic during peak months of June and July would elect to travel into Alaska through Prince Rupert.

The Marine Highway intends to focus marketing efforts on Prince Rupert in the near and long term, he said.

Removing the Malaspina from the Bellingham run, where it ran at 60 to 70 percent capacity, will save millions in operating costs, Hardy said.

Information from: KINY-AM, http://www.kinyradio.com/

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***Update March 30 7 pm--Alaska Ferries declares their testing a success and advise customers that both the Taku and Matanuska will be using the BC Ferries dock in Prince Rupert until repairs are maid to the Alaska Ferry Dock...

Cost cutting measures in Alaska could see more Alaska Marine Highway System traffic through Prince Rupert

The North coast isn’t the only place where the ferries can become controversial, to the north of Prince Rupert; announced changes to the Alaska Marine Highway System are not being overwhelmingly accepted by the locals.

The financially struggling Alaska Marine Highway System has announced that it plans to reduce ferry service from Bellingham, Wash., transiting off the coast of B. C. and through Alaska's Inside Passage by half - down to one trip per week.

In place of the second Bellingham sailing, plans are in the works to offer an additional sailing to Prince Rupert, replacing the long distance cruise with the more familiar Ketchikan to Rupert run.

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While that may bode well for Prince Rupert, the planned cutbacks have their critics, who have a range of concerns. From what they consider an inferior local terminal, to issues relating to a weakening American dollar and having to clear through a customs post in an era of increased security, the prospect for some of having to make a long distance drive through the Canadian countryside isn’t sitting well.

For the Alaska Marine Highway system it’s a simple matter of economics, with an aging fleet of vessels and increased costs, the ferry operators are looking for ways to keep the system afloat. As it stands, their economic breakdowns show that for every dollar they earn on operations, they require two dollars from the state treasury to keep the system moving.

The Ferry system is just one component of a planned overhaul on the States transportation infrastructure, a project that is known as 2030 Lets Get Moving. An ambitious 65 page draft plan for long term planning for the States Transportation needs.

So in the short term, in order to cut some costs and try to reduce the burden on the treasury they’ve decided to reduce the long distance service, in favour of the border hopping run.

However, much like the situation with BC Ferries, when you change the schedules and remove some long cherished connections, you will hear from the customers. Right now, the customers and residents of the state are letting their transportation providers know that they are keeping an eye on what’s going on.

And like politicians anywhere, Alaska's' government officials will be careful that they don't alienate the voters to the point of pending unemployment.

Seattle Times--Alaska ferry service from Bellingham WA being cut in half

Anchorage Daily News--Advocates push for independent ferry authority

Sit News--DOT Extends Comment Period on Transportation Plan to Feb. 1

Alaska Ferries suffers transportation problems

It's not just BC Ferries that is having problems with their vessels this year, the Alaska Marine Highway System has seen one of its most popular vessels sidelined with mechanical problems.

The MV Columbia, which sails between Bellingham and Southeast Alaska, has been pulled from service for the rest of the summer due to the mechanical problems. which means that a rejuggling of the remaining vessels will be required.

The schedules for the rest of the service may be affected as the Ferry service tries to fill the void caused by the Columbia's absence.

Ferry breakdown halves popular sailings between Bellingham and S.E. Alaska
By Kristin Jackson
Seattle Times travel staff

August 17, 2007

The state of Alaska's flagship ferry, the MV Columbia, which sails between Bellingham and Southeast Alaska, is out of service for the rest of the summer season because of a mechanical problem. That leaves only one ship sailing the popular route, with only one round trip a week instead of the normal two.

The Columbia broke down earlier this week and engine repairs will take weeks; the ship already was scheduled for a lengthy overhaul beginning Sept. 23 so it was taken out of service.
Only the MV Malaspina will now sail between Bellingham and ports in Southeast Alaska, including Ketchikan and Juneau. It departs Bellingham each Tuesday. (The Columbia departed on Fridays.)

"There's no substitute boat," said Mike Chambers, a spokesman for the state's Department of Transportation. Travelers who have reservations on the Columbia — which can carry 626 passengers and 134 vehicles — will be accommodated on other ferries if possible or may need to get alternate transportation.

Many ferry schedules within Alaska and to Prince Rupert, B.C., are being rearranged to compensate for the absence of the Columbia; travelers should check with the Alaska Marine Highway System which runs the ferries: www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/o or phone 800-642-0066.
A piston rod failed and caused the shutdown of the Malaspina's starboard engine; new bearings need to be specially manufactured and that takes weeks.

Kristin Jackson: kjackson@seattletimes.com

Smooth sailing until at least 2013

The great Alaska Ferry scare is over. The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) says that they are committed to Prince Rupert at least until 2013. The prospect of losing the ferry first came up last week with a couple of media reports and some ruminations from the Mayor over the status of the Ferry Service’s plans.

The charge to relocate the terminal to Hyder seems to be led by a local resident, Gary Benedict, president of the Hyder Board of Trade and a hotel operator who has some unusual interpretations of international law and customs procedures. Benedict seems to be concerned over the treatment of drunk drivers and seems to paint a picture of the ferry being held up for hours at a time while Canada Customs officials haul off potential troublemakers, something that hasn’t really been noted locally nor which there have been any complaints noted. He also goes back to the 1996 ferry blockade and our “shameful history”.

That of course, was a rather unfortunate incident and one which certainly had this community split over why it took place and how effective it really was. But to paint it as a “history” seems a tad dis-ingenious to say the least. All of it we suspect is designed to make Hyder look like a transportation Nirvana, despite the fact that disembarking passengers would still have to go through a customs officer, would still get in trouble if they were driving drunk and then would have to add some driving time down a rather rough road to get their journey underway. Sometimes it seems that the worst information is dis-information.

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While we might think of Benedict’s approach as rather easy to see, there is considerable pressure within the state of Alaska to relocate the southern terminus on Alaska soil. However, for the moment the arrangement with Prince Rupert seems to be the most logical solution to the systems needs.

The Daily News had full details as the front page story on Tuesday, on what has now become a bit of a non story locally.

‘ALASKA FERRY’S FUTURE IS IN RUPERT UNTIL AT LEAST 2013
Official says there’s no plan to relocated the ferry terminal to Hyder, Alaska
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Page one

While there continues to be political pressure to move the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) Ferry Terminal out of Prince Rupert, an Alaskan official with the state’s Department of Transportation says they are committed to remaining in the community until at least 2013.

Mike Chambers, spokesperson for the Alaskan Department of Transportation, said the state’s lease with the city of Prince Rupert doesn’t expire until Aug, 31, 2013.

“We are definitely there for at least a few more years,” said Chambers.

The city leases the land and dock for the terminal from the Prince Rupert Port Authority and it in-turn leases the land to the AMHS.

Under an arrangement worked out after the 1996 blockage of the Alaskan ferry by fishermen, the city had an abatement agreement to cover a portion of the lease costs. This recently expired, however the lease itself extends until 2013.

Gary Benedict, president of the Hyder Board of Trade and a hotel operator there, has been lobbying new Alaskan Governor Sarah Paulin, the Alaska Legislature and the top management of the Alaska Department of Transportation to move the terminal to Alaskan waters.

Having the ferry in Prince Rupert leads to problems with customs issues, including the detention of U. S. Citizens with misdemeanors for drunk-driving any time the boat stops in Prince Rupert, he said.

“One of the big drawbacks is the customs coming on their ships and taking people off it,” said Benedict. “It ties the boat up for a while.”

He added there is a shameful history of fishermen holding the Alaska Ferry hostage in 1996. At that time, the AMHS used Hyder as a back-up terminal.

Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond acknowledged there are problems that arise from new international security requirements. However, he said these issue are not ones that can be solved by Prince Rupert alone.

”No one is going to waive rules of international scope,” said Pond. “These are issues of Homeland Security.”

Security Issues affect the whole Pacific coast, he said, and to that end, the city is involved with the Pacific North West Economic Region (PNWER), a provincial/state-based organization that deals with Pacific Northwest transboundary policy issues.

The 17th annual PNWER Summit is taking place in Anchorage and Pond will be in attendance.

“It’s a national forum for discussing these kinds of issues,” said Pond.

“If we can get a larger group working on it, perhaps we can bring a more reasonable security implementation for everyone.”

In addition, the city has been working to connect the AMHS WITH THE B. C. Ferry system.

In the meantime, Chambers said there is no concern that the AMHS will make any sudden decisions about moving the terminal.

“We don’t have anything that resembles a formal request to use Hyder as our second terminus to the Lower 48,” said Chambers.

Ten years ago today...

It was ten years ago today, that Prince Rupert became the eye in the storm of an international incident. It was on this day ten years ago that Canadian fishermen blocked in the Alaska Ferry MV Malsapina at the Fairview Alaska Marine Highway Service dock.

High tension reigned for three days as politicians bickered and some blustered of sending in the Marines or the US Coast Guard to free their blocked in vessel.

The following months would see ferry service to Prince Rupert cancelled by AMHS, with five months passing before normal service would resume.

It was a fascinating three days, one which split the local community over the tactics used to get a message across to all levels of government.

The Sit News has published a retrospective of those angry days, an interesting look at some recent history that still to this day can fire up the emotions.

You can read the Sit News article here.

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Other selected links on the issue can be found below:

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Princeton Journal Of Foreign Affairs: US CANADIAN FISHING WARS

Salon: BLAME CANADA? HELL, LET'S DECLARE WAR

CAW website: WHERE IS DAVID ANDERSON?

PBS Newshour: NORTH AMERICAN FISH FIGHT

Sunet forum: FORUM ON FISHERIES ISSUES

Is the Alaska ferry set to sail back home for good?

The Northern View on Wednesday featured the potentially damaging blow to Prince Rupert, of having the Alaska Marine Highway System pull out of the city. On the front page the weekly and its website today, is the story of the pressure from within the state of Alaska, which could see the southern terminus of the service move to Hyder, Alaska.

While it may be more of a case of some hard bargaining to come for the City of Prince Rupert and the terms for the Terminal based here, there has always been a certain segment of Alaskan society that has wanted the ferry to stop in American waters, with Ketchikan the usual suspect, complete with a road punched through the panhandle and into BC to form a link with Highway 16.

The Hyder proposal hasn't been mentioned much before, due mainly to the lack of infrastructure in place there. There are few hotels, motels and such to serve a huge influx of travellers waiting for a sailing, though we suspect that it wouldn't take long for Alaska's entrepreneurs to launch a building boom.

The last time that the ferry service was in danger of potentially being lost, probably dates back to the great Malaspina blockade of the 1997. When local fishing boats formed a blockade to hold the ferry into harbour over the state of the fishery of the day.

While no similar incident has happened since, that episode still seems to resonate with the folks in Juneau, and in the rumblings of the post 9-11 world security seems to be one of the talking points they are using this time around.

The situation has attracted the attention of Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond, who used his free reign in the pages of the Northern View to examine the issue from his point of view.

Both the story on the latest rumblings over the ferry and the Mayor's column on it can be found below.

Pressure to pull ferries is increasing
By Shaun Thomas

The Northern View
Jul 18 2007

The push for Alaska Ferries to pull its service from Prince Rupert is on the rise within the state, according to Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond.

“As long as I have been in government, that has been an issue. Hyder has been lobbying and it has always been in the background,” he said.

“It is coming to life again a little more because there are new people running the Alaska ferry system, there is a new commissioner of transportation under the elected governor, there is a new Marine Transportation Advisory Board and I think that lobby has come back to life in a stronger than usual way. There are some significant operational issues for the Alaska Marine Highway System as they operate in and out of Canada now that simply didn’t exist 10 years ago.”

Among the new operational concerns are increased security measures put into place for travel between the U.S. and Canada following the attacks of September 11, some of which require U.S. Customs agents to travel on board the ferry between Alaska and Prince Rupert, explained Pond.
Currently the city owns the terminal building and has a lease with both the Prince Rupert Port Authority and the Alaska Marine Highway System, a lease that was given a short-term renewal recently and that the city says could be on a month-to-month basis. Should Alaska Ferries choose to withdraw its service, Pond said the impact to Prince Rupert could be huge.

“This is a transportation link that means a lot to Prince Rupert and has the potential to be really substantial to Prince Rupert as we move forward with expanded retail shopping and the gaming centre opening up. I think people would be surprised to know how many Alaskans come down here every year,” he said.

“We have done a lot of work building relationships to keep people informed about what is developing here in Prince Rupert and we have some strong allies that see the tremendous advantage of coming here, but we have to do a lot of work and form a lot of alliances to make sure that nobody takes that for granted.”

A spokesperson for the Alaska Marine Highway System confirmed that Hyder is pushing for the ferry to come there and listed issues with Prince Rupert such as the poor maintenance of the dock and cross-border operational concerns. However, he noted that Hyder is more costly to go to, has no dock infrastructure and lacks supports like hotels and motels.

The importance of building and keeping strong regional ties
By Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond

The Northern View
Jul 18 2007

As we live our busy lives, few of us think much about Alaska and the impact it has on our economy. We shouldn’t take it for granted.

A significant percentage of our seafood processing jobs depend on Alaskan caught fish. Our stores, restaurants and hotels all benefit from traffic destined for Alaska. We are home port to the Aquatrain which travels between here and Whittier. And as shipping lines examine the opportunities at the container port, our proximity to the Alaskan market is very strong advantage. Without doubt, there is considerable potential for increased commerce north-south.

It’s noteworthy that during the recent flooding closures, our neighbours in our sister city of Ketchikan were amongst the very first to offer help.

In part, that’s why Prince Rupert Council places such a high importance on building relationships in Ketchikan and throughout southeast Alaska. And in part, that’s why we participated again this year in their July 4th parade, bringing along the ever-popular Mounties in red serge. And, once again we were warmly welcomed – in fact it’s always a little overwhelming.

Like our own Seafest Parade, people line the streets of Ketchikan for blocks. In all, the route takes about an hour to travel. The shouts from the crowd are incredible. “Welcome to Ketchikan!” “Thanks for coming!” “Happy (belated) Birthday Canada!”

People want Canada flags and pins. They want pictures with the Mounties. They tell of their last trip through Rupert – often to ski, golf or play basketball somewhere in the Northwest.

We meet with business and political leaders and together commit to strengthen our bonds, which is becoming increasingly important. The Alaska Marine Highway (ferry) System, our strongest link with Alaska, is always under close scrutiny and in this post 9/11 world there are growing challenges to operating a transborder ferry system.

Like our own ferry system, AMHS relies heavily on taxpayer funding to cover the shortfalls and lawmakers are increasingly looking for ways to save money. We’ve got our work cut out for us to maintain and grow this critical link.

That’s why in addition to building strong ties within the Northwest, and along Highway 16, we are also looking north. Prince Rupert has long played a significant role in connecting the communities of this North Coast, and indeed in connecting Alaska to B.C. In many ways it is our destiny.

Now, more than ever it is also our opportunity and responsibility.

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Picture above from the pbs.org newshour archive site.

South from Alaska, a rush may soon be on!

The prospect of a container port so close to the Alaska panhandle, has more than a few Southeastern Alaskan’s looking at the potential for their economy to make use of the Fairview Container Port.

One key ingredient to the potential of a North - South trading route is the much discussed Gateway Shuttle Ferry, which many in Alaska are looking to be a more convenient and quicker access to the Prince Rupert area.

It was the main point in an interesting look at our port and how it may fit into the economic plans of Alaska. The transportation talking points appeared on the Sit News website today, in the form of a letter to the editor.

AMHS Southern Gateway Shuttle Ferry Needs to be Operating in 2008

By Mike Round
Viewpoints

Sit News

March 25, 2007

Sunday AM

When Prince Rupert's intermodal freight facility opens October 2007, Alaska should be ready to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities that this port development will provide. The Fairview terminal will be servicing the largest container vessels in the world and running two trains with double-stacked container cars into the U.S. mid-west every single day. Ketchikan's closest neighbor to the south is about to become North America's newest major shipping port. This freight facility has the potential of substantially reducing the cost of doing business, and the cost of living, in southeast Alaska. This project is moving towards completion and connecting to it will be vital to the future economic growth and stability of southeast Alaska.

North American trade with Asian countries, and specifically, China has been growing at the rate of two million tons per year. That yearly increase is equivalent to the entire volume of freight that passes annually through the Port of Vancouver, British Columbia. Expansion of existing North American ports to handle this increase has been slow and inadequate. Existing ports were intentionally sited in major high-density urban areas, since the cities themselves represented substantial markets. However, as world markets grew, transshipping to distant destinations beyond the large port cities became more important and increasingly more difficult. The congestion in cities restricts a port's ability to expand and accommodate larger facilities. Presently container ships entering existing ports may sit for days on anchor waiting to be off-loaded. North American ports are maxed out and severe bottlenecks in the flow of freight are occurring. The desperate need for more capacity to handle the ever-increasing trade with Asia has driven the development of the Prince Rupert Fairview Container Terminal.

Prince Rupert has other advantages beyond being just a new facility to handle the overflow container traffic. It is the closest North American port to China; it is ice-free year round; it is connected by rail; it is the second largest deep-water port in the world; and it has essentially unlimited room for expansion. The first phase of this $575 million port development will be completed this year, 2007, and future expansion from 500,000 TEUs (Twenty foot Equivalent Units) to 2,000,000 TEUs is scheduled for completion by 2010. If necessary, the Fairview site has the potential to expand to handle over 4,000,000 TEUs. So far, the project is on budget and on time.

The Fairview Container Terminal will be run by Maher Terminals of Canada a subsidiary of Maher Terminals of New York. Maher is the largest container terminal operator in the Port of New York and New Jersey and has signed a thirty-year lease to operate the Prince Rupert terminal. Maher has invested over $60 million dollars to install three huge super post panamax cranes that can lift 60 tons and reach 200 feet across the deck of the world's largest container freighters to pick cargo. These cranes will be moving containers across the dock from ship to train sometime this October.

CN rail has expanded and upgraded the storage yard tracks at the terminal to hold 17,000 feet of train and has spent $155 million dollars buying and upgrading the rail lines to accommodate double stacked container cars that will haul containers all the way to the United States mid-west. 50 new locomotives have been purchased to provide the transportation needs for this increased rail service.

Most large urban port facilities have a significant portion of their containers loaded on thousands of trucks, which causes traffic congestion in and around the port and slows the container transfer operation considerably. The Prince Rupert operation is unique in that it will be 98% pure inter-modal transfer of containers - that is, transferring containers from ships directly to trains. This highly efficient, high-speed transfer of containers could be the biggest impediment to Alaska's successful participation in this venture. Alaska's window of opportunity lies in the remaining 2% of capacity that allows for delivery of containers by other means, such as truck, barge and ferry. Alaska needs to be involved in the planning and administration of this facility to ensure that access for our shipping needs is accommodated.

While 2% is a small fraction of the total volume, it still represents 5,000 forty-foot containers, which are the standard size containers hauled by truck. How much of those five thousand truckloads will be Alaska freight will depend on Alaska's ability and political will to take advantage of this opportunity. The Alaska Marine Highway System needs to provide ferry service that will allow southeast Alaska to connect to this "transformational" infrastructure. The Southern Gateway Shuttle ferry, presently on the drawing board for operating in 2010, has yet to be designed or funded. This important transportation link needs to transition from the drawing board to a working reality on a more stepped-up time line. Alaska will need reliable daily ferry service to the Prince Rupert facility in the summer of 2008.

Presently Prince Rupert enjoys about 400,000 independent visitors per year. Most of these visitors arrive by car, train and ferry. If daily shuttle ferry service between Prince Rupert and Ketchikan is provided, southeast Alaska will definitely see an increase in the number of independent tourists. As Prince Rupert inevitably grows there will be demand for more passenger train service to the northwest and increased opportunity to attract independent travelers to Alaska. One of the existing fast ferries could be assigned this route during the seasonal high-traffic periods while the Southern Gateway Shuttle Ferry is being fabricated. This mainland terminal connection to North America could soon become the major AMHS feeder line providing needed passenger and freight revenue.

With two trains per day and 108 hours travel time between Rupert and Chicago, seafood processors have the opportunity to send out fresh seafood to these new markets. Seafood is currently shipped from Alaska to China, Japan and Taiwan for reprocessing, and the Prince Rupert terminal will be looking to fill back haul containers at discounted rates. While containers imported from China to North America will likely be assessed a rate of between $3500 to $4500 back-haul export rates should be between $300 and $700.

With the shipping and transportation opportunities offered by this facility, there will be advantages and incentives for new manufacturing businesses to set up shop and do business in southeast Alaska. Businesses producing manufactured wood products or supplying shelf-stable, value-added seafood products produced in southeast Alaska could bring year round stability to our seasonal economies. Connecting Alaska to Prince Rupert with reliable daily ferry service is vital to Alaska's economic interests. If businesses can fill a shipping container, they should be able to take advantage of the competitive freight rates offered by this new facility. Alaska needs to be involved with and focused on connecting to this "new world of opportunity" coming this year to our southern border.

Mike RoundKetchikan, AK

Received March 22, 2007 -

Published March 25, 2007

In a polite way, we're saying "Show us the Money".

“We are looking to restore a lease structure closer to the market rate and arrangement closer to what we had before.’"

In other words, it’s been ten years now, it’s time to forgive and forget and maybe pay a little bit more.

The renegotiation of lease arrangements for the Alaska Marine Highway have begun between the City and the US ferry corporation, with the city hoping to receive a more rewarding return on their point of entry site.

The current arrangement which is considered a rather sweet deal for the Alaskans came about after the 1997 blockade of the MV Malaspina by over 130 Canadian fishing boats. The three day blockade which held 328 passengers and 71 vehicles locked into port soured relations between the city and the state of Alaska (and led to the naming of this blog by the way) with threats of eliminating the service to Prince Rupert completely.

In the end, the city offered the Alaskans a deal that they couldn’t refuse and the Alaskans chose to maintain their southern terminal at Fairview Bay. That lease now almost ten years old is the subject of discussions now between the city and Alaska.

Also on the back burner, but of equal importance is the possibility of a daily shuttle service between Lax Kw’alaams and Ketchikan, a service that would require some 70 million dollars in road work to be a feasible alternative to the current set up locally.

The Daily News reviewed the issue in its Tuesday edition.

ALASKAN FERRY SUBJECT OF TALKS

By Leanne Ritchie

The Daily News

Wednesday, January 16, 2007

Pages one and three

The city has begun renegotiating its lease with the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) more than 10 years after it offered the U. S. Ferry Corporation a sweetheart deal to keep it in

B. C. waters

The city met with officials from the AMHS for the first time last week

Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond said at this point the negotiations are at an early stage.

“It was the first face-to-face meeting for both parties,’ said Pond, “Both parties are now going away to look at what they need to do.”

Pond explained the lease under renegotiation was signed by the city after the 1997 blockade that stemmed from an international dispute over Pacific salmon. An estimated 130 Canadian fishing boats surrounded the state-owned ferry M/V Malaspina. Some 328 passengers and 71 vehicles were prevented from leaving Rupert.

Canadian fishers ended their blockade three days later but the governor of Alaska suspended ferry service to the community for six months.

The result was that the city negotiated with the Alaskans to restart service and agreed to take a financial loss on the lease of the marine facilities.

For the past decade, the dock and land have been leased by the city from the Prince Rupert Port Authority on behalf of the AMHS.

“We are looking to restore a lease structure closer to the market rate and arrangement closer to what we had before,’ said Pond.

The city, under its former arrangement, was also responsible for the upkeep of the marine facilities. Last fall, the city ended up paying close to $300,000 to fix some pilings that would not have survived the winter storms.

As part of negotiating the new lease, Pond said both Alaskan ferry officials and the city are working toward ways that will see the traffic coming to and from Prince Rupert grow.

“The numbers have dwindled over the last few years,” said Pond.

“We are looking at how we can put our marketing forces together.”

Fortunately, while AMHS officials were in town, there was also a large delegation from B. C. Ferries and the two were able to get together for talks.

They had some joint meetings about how they could work together and how the city fits in so everyone gets more value,’ said Pond.

“I think everyone walked away very happy,”

The AMHS dock and facility is located on the northwest side of town, right next to he B. C. Ferries terminal.

Prince Rupert is the gateway not only north to Alaska but also south along the Inside Passage.

The AMHS Prince Rupert stop is the only stop between Seattle, Washington and Ketchikan, Alaska.

There is also still some discussion about developing a gateway shuttle on the AMHS that would do daily runs between Lax Kw’alaams and Ketchikan.

However, that would require a road to be built between Lax Kw’alaams and Digby Island, which is a $70 million proposal