Petroleum and Cement Terminal Construction

Port of Alaska expects to complete construction and initiate operations of its new Petroleum and Cement Terminal (PCT) this year.

The PCT will be a pile-supported dock located south of existing terminals and adjacent to ABI’s cement-storage dome. It will replace Petroleum Oil Lubricants Terminal 1 (POL1), Port of Alaska’s primary petroleum terminal and Alaska’s only dock equipped with a pneumatic, bulkcement unloading and transfer system. POL1 opened in 1965, is severely corroded, and suffered significant structural damage during the Nov. 30, 2018 magnitude 7.1 earthquake.

The PCT is the first phase of the Port of Alaska Modernization Program (PAMP) and must be completed before POL1 fails or is demolished to ensure that Port of Alaska maintains capacity to economically meet Alaska fuel and cement needs. . . ➤Click Here To Continue Reading

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About The Port

Port of Alaska is a Municipality of Anchorage owned facility that serves all of Alaska and the nation. It is Alaska’s most versatile port that handled 4.7 million tons of fuel and freight in 2020, including containers, liquid bulk, dry bulk, break bulk, and cruise ships too. About half of all Alaska inbound cargo crosses Port of Alaska docks, about half of which is delivered to final destinations outside of Anchorage – statewide, including Southeast. It leverages hundreds of millions of dollars of public and private infrastructure, including more than 125 acres of cargo-handling yard, 3.1 million barrels of liquid fuel storage, 60,000 tons of cement storage, gantry cranes, RO-RO trestles, and a large, skilled workforce. It is located on tsunami-proof upper Cook Inlet, adjacent to Alaska’s population center and primary road, marine, air, rail and pipeline cargo distribution systems.

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Big Anchorage Tides

Upper Cook Inlet has the highest tides in the United States and range almost 40 feet.

NOAA tide predictions for Port of Alaska typically range between low tides down to minus five feet and high tides that exceed plus 33 feet, with a mean daily tide range of 26.2 feet.

Anchorage’s extreme tides are driven by Upper Cook Inlet’s constricted geography and the configuration of northern hemisphere land masses. Local weather conditions intensify Anchorage’s tide fluctuations.

Click on these video link to see how tides influence Port of Alaska operations.

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Modernization Program

Engineers estimate that Port of Alaska’s aging docks will start closing due to corrosion and loss of load-bearing capacity in as few as eight years if they are not replaced, possibly sooner if there is another big earthquake. Port of Alaska’s Modernization Program (PAMP) aims to replace Anchorage’s aging docks and related infrastructure before it fails, to:

Improve operational safety and efficiency
Accommodate modern shipping operations
Improve resiliency – to survive extreme seismic events and sustain ongoing cargo operations

Workers are constructing a new Petroleum and Cement Terminal that is scheduled for completion in late 2021. Officials plan to maintain normal cargo operations throughout PAMP. Final program scope, designs and schedule are still being determined based upon user needs and available funding.

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What’s new at the port . . .

Next Anchorage Port Commission Meeting

Nov. 10, 2021 noon-1:30pm: The next Anchorage Port Commission will be virtual because of the COVID-19 resurgence. To participate, please send an email with the words “Port Commission Meeting” in the subject line to PortOfAlaska@anchorageak.gov before 5 pm on Tuesday, Nov. 9 to request an email meeting invitation with call-in phone number and log-in information. A meeting agenda and information packet will be posted on this web site several days before the meeting.

Port of Alaska Employment Impacts report

McKinley Research Group (formerly McDowell Group) released a June 2021 report about Port of Alaska’s employment impacts.
Download Port of Alaska Employment Impacts report – pdf

Statewide and Port of Alaska Long Range Fuel Forecast

McDowell Group projects Alaska’s and Port of Alaska’s long range fuel demands.
Download Statewide and Port of Alaska Long Range Fuel Forecast, Nov. 20, 2020 – pdf

Port of Alaska logistical and economic advantages report update

McDowell Group released a 2020 update of its report about Port of Alaska’s critical functions and logistical and economic benefits.
Download Port of Alaska logistical and economic advantages report – pdf

Port of Alaska updated its port fact sheet.

Download Port of Alaska fact sheet – pdf

COVID-19 Update – Port of Alaska maintaining normal cargo operations during pandemic

Matson and TOTE deliver more than 80 percent of all containerized cargo shipped into Southcentral Alaska in two ships each per week that generally arrive in Anchorage on Sundays and Tuesdays. These vessels normally depart Port of Tacoma (WA) on Wednesdays and Fridays and take a little less than three days to reach Anchorage, depending upon weather, tides, etc. TOTE services Alaska with two ships that sail directly between Tacoma and Anchorage. Matson uses three ships that also provide twice-weekly service to Kodiak and once-weekly service to Dutch Harbor.

Worldwide container shipping volumes are down due to COVID-19-related market changes, but Port of Alaska container volumes and ship traffic remain about normal for this time of year. COVID-19 decreases in Alaska market demand for some products has been off-set by COVID-19-driven demand spikes for other goods. Economists anticipate that Alaska cargo loads will fall later this year because of COVID-19-related reductions in Alaska energy and visitor industries.

All 14 Port of Alaska cruise ship visits that were scheduled this season have been cancelled because of COVID-19. Port of Alaska, Matson, TOTE and other shippers all have significant additional capacity to accommodate any freight or fuel shipping needs that might arise to respond to COVID-19.

Port Of Alaska COVID-19 Mitigation and Prevention Plan – pdf

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