Born2Invest
By: Anthony Donaghue
While the recent Alaskan quake spared the Port of Alaska, the state recognizes that a major overhaul is due for this crucial piece of infrastructure.
After the 7.0 magnitude earthquake north of Anchorage on Nov. 30, Alaska’s shipping industry recovered relatively quickly. The Port of Alaska made it through, which is an ongoing concern given its extreme corrosion and need for a major overhaul. Anchorage’s airport mostly stayed open but railroads took some damage and highways took the worst. The potential vulnerability of Alaska’s logistics infrastructure was again highlighted with special concern regarding the Port of Alaska.
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https://born2invest.com/articles/earthquake-highlights-need-overhaul-port-alaska/
Author: Anchorage Daily News editorial board
Two weeks after a magnitude 7 earthquake shook Southcentral, we’re beginning to get a picture of the damage, the costs of recovery and the places that suffered most. As homeowners and organizations alike take stock of their situations, almost universally, the response is gratitude.
“There’s so many ways we’re lucky,” Eagle River resident Rick Walburn said after the house he and his husband were renting partially collapsed.
The other side of the coin, however, is that we shouldn’t let the relatively limited damage inflicted by the recent quake lull us into the false impression that we’re better prepared to weather such an event in the future. Here are some silver linings — and warnings — the earthquake exposed.
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https://www.adn.com/opinions/editorials/2018/12/16/in-the-earthquake-aftermath-where-are-the-silver-linings-and-what-are-the-warnings/
Anchorage Daily News
Author: ADN editorial board
The silver lining: “Alaska is essentially an island” from the point of view of transporting goods, said Port of Alaska External Affairs Director Jim Jager on Thursday, and the state has one major ingress point: the port. At the time of the earthquake, a liner was offloading jet fuel, which could have been disastrous if things went wrong. But nothing did. The liner halted its transfer, stayed an extra day in port while workers checked to make sure there were no leaks in the pipes and lines the fuel flowed through, then went on its way. “We dodged a bullet," he said.
Read the full story here:
https://www.adn.com/opinions/editorials/2018/12/16/in-the-earthquake-aftermath-where-are-the-silver-linings-and-what-are-the-warnings/
KTVA News
By: Dave Leval
Earlier this week, Port of Alaska director Steve Ribuffo updated Sen. Lisa Murkowski on the damage to one of the transit yards, a portion of which collapsed during the earthquake.
"If it all slides, and goes this way, and hits all those corroded piles, we will lose this building," Ribuffo said, as there's more damage to see.
Murkowski joined Sen. Dan Sullivan on Monday night, as the group went to the north end of the port.
"This portion over here was supposed to be structurally sound enough to stay in use, that's why when you see the cracks out here, we're getting a little concerned about just how stable is the whole thing," Ribuffo said.
Read the full story here:
https://www.ktva.com/story/39608913/repairs-underway-to-earthquake-damaged-port-of-alaska
MarineLink
By: Joseph Keefe
5,000 HP workhorse to enter Alaska service this month.
The Bering Wind, a powerful Dolphin Class tugboat, is being transferred from the Foss fleet in Long Beach, California to Cook Inlet Tug & Barge in Anchorage. The tug, formerly known as the Campbell Foss, is scheduled to begin service in Anchorage this month.
The vessel was renamed in October of this year and is scheduled to enter service in Alaska in approximately November 15, 2018.
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https://www.marinelink.com/news/foss-redeploys-hybrid-harbor-tug-443183
KTUU News
By Rebecca Palsha
The Port of Alaska handles more than 3.5 million tons of food, building supplies, just about everything that comes into the state. It is also designated as a strategic seaport for the Department of Defense.
But, it is old and rusted and expected to be unusable in the next 10 years.
If something were to happen to it, it would also be devastating. It would take less than a week to see the shelves at supermarkets empty out.
On a recent port tour, a spokesperson for the port pointed out rust and holes within the structures of the port.
"You don't have to be an engineer to look at it and go, 'Ha, I don't think it's supposed to do that.' " Jim Jager, the Port External Affairs Director said.
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https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Can-the-Port-of-Alaska-withstand-an-earthquake-497084141.html
KTVA Channel 11 News
By: Joe Vigil
It was unexpected and unwanted for the Port of Alaska in Anchorage. The port just got hit with steel tariffs from the Trump administration. This as the port moves forward with an estimated billion-dollar port modernization project.
Port officials say they purchased some steel pilings that will be inserted into other pilings that are corroded. Those pilings support the docks. Port officials say the contractor notified them that it was being billed by U.S. Customs an extra $500,000 in steel tariffs. Port leaders say they ordered the parts before tariffs went into place.
Port staff were expected to meet with Municipality of Anchorage staff members and attorneys on Thursday to discuss the tariffs "and see if there's anything we can, any recourse we might have to mitigate this in whole or in part," said Port Director Steve Ribuffo.
Ribuffo says it's too early to tell if the cost of the project would increase due to the tariffs.
Meanwhile, the port continues searching for ways to finance the massive billion dollar project. Port External Affairs Director Jim Jager says the port currently has only $56 million in available funds for the modernization.
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http://www.ktva.com/story/39088672/port-of-alaska-hit-with-steel-tariffs
KTUU News
By: Rebecca Palsha
On a recent Friday afternoon, a large bright pink and red container ship was docked at the Port of Alaska. In just a few hours, it would begin its long journey back to Asia after leaving behind its haul.
The Port — renamed the Port of Alaska from of the Port of Anchorage in October — is vital to the state. It handles more than 3.5 million tons of food, building supplies and all things that make life enjoyable and workable for Alaskans. It is also designated as a strategic seaport for the Department of Defense.
But what port officials want Alaskans to know is that the port is aging out of relevance quickly, perhaps to the point of obsolescence in the next 10 years. The question now is can port officials secure money needed to rebuild or replace key port infrastructure before major problems emerge?
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http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/An-old-port-covered-corrosion-and-and-too-small-for-modern-ships-makes-a-pitch-to-Alaskans-for-money---492989311.html
Anchorage Daily News
By: Annie Zak, Tegan Hanlon
Alaska's candidates for governor kept it relatively low-key at a one-hour forum Monday in Anchorage where they discussed their plans for crime, oil, the Permanent Fund and more.
There were no vicious attacks at the event, hosted by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center. No harsh words. No jabs thrown.
All four gubernatorial candidates arrived in suits: former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, a Democrat, former state Sen. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, incumbent Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, and Libertarian William "Billy" Toien.
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https://www.adn.com/politics/2018/09/10/candidates-for-alaska-governor-talk-crime-budget-gap-and-oil-in-anchorage-forum/
Alaska Journal of Commerce
By: Elwood Brehmer
Federal Claims Court Judge Edward Damich didn’t take long to rule that the U.S. Maritime Administration must produce a previously proprietary report on the failings of the former Port of Anchorage Intermodal Expansion Project.
Damich ruled Aug. 23, just two days after arguments on the matter, that a root cause analysis engineering report done in 2012 by the international consulting and management firm AECOM will become part of the court record in the Municipality of Anchorage’s lawsuit against the federal agency commonly known as MARAD.
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http://www.alaskajournal.com/2018-08-28/marad-ordered-hand-over-port-study#.W4b0_OhKjtV
