Working In Alaska

Vigor to Acquire Alaska Ship & Drydock

Vigor today announced its plan to acquire Alaska Ship and Drydock Inc. (ASD), further consolidating the business of ship repair on the U.S. West Coast.  ASD intends to transition its business and assets to Vigor pending approval of the transfer of ownership by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), the owner of the Ketchikan Shipyard where ASD is based. The private companies hope to finalize their agreement on or before March 1st. ASD would operate the Ketchikan Shipyard (KSY) as the Alaska Ship & Drydock LLC subsidiary, in continuation of its thirty year AIDEA operating agreements. ASD employees and customers will notice little change in day-to-day operations, said ASD owner Randy Johnson, a Ketchikan resident who has directed operations at KSY since 1994. Johnson will continue with the company, becoming ASD Vice Chairman. “The purchase of ASD by Vigor will increase the capacity and competitiveness of the Ketchikan Shipyard in many ways, positioning Ketchikan and the State of Alaska to not only continue our high level of service to existing customers, but to significantly participate in exciting new markets emerging in the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans,” Johnson said. Vigor Industrial currently owns and operates leading maritime services in the Pacific Northwest at facilities from Portland through Puget Sound.

Derecktor and Alaska Government Officials Sign Contract

Paul Derecktor, Alaska Governor Tony Knowles, State Department of Transportation Commissioner Joe Perkins and several Alaska State Officials were in attendance last week at the State Capitol in Juno, for the signature of the contract that entrusts Derecktor Shipyards with the construction of two new high-speed ferries for the Alaska Marine Highway System. This contract will be the first time a U.S. yard builds passenger-vehicle high-speed ferries

Washington State Issues Fine to Tanker Company

Alaska Tanker Company was fined $25,000 by the state for allowing an estimated 462 gallons of crude oil to spill from the tanker, Prince William Sound, into Port Angeles harbor. The spill partly stained two miles of beach inside Ediz Hook. The state Department of Ecology's investigation found that the tanker's crew allowed a deck-drain system to fail because there was no check valve in place to prevent it from overflowing in Port Angeles Harbor on a journey from Valdez, Alaska

Work Resumes at Port of Tacoma for Alaska Cargo

Following negotiations with International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 23 and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), an agreement was reached allowing Tacoma longshore workers to load and discharge Alaska-bound domestic cargo ships. Approximately 70 percent of all commercial goods consumed in Alaska are shipped through Port of Tacoma terminals. The agreement allows Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE) vessels to be discharged and loaded at the TOTE Terminal on the Blair

Derecktor Awarded High Speed Ferry Contracts

Derecktor Shipyards won the contract for the construction of the first two passenger /vehicle high-speed ferries for the State of Alaska's Marine Highway System. The NGA design presented by Derecktor competed in a bid race that lasted several months and ended with the notice of intent to award going to Derecktor Shipyards. This project, funded by the Federal Government, allows the State of Alaska to link Sitka to Juneau with fast modern boats, capable of a one-day round trip

NOAA to Hold Public Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska

NOAA's Hydrographic Services Review Panel (HSRP) is holding a Public meeting, May 22-24, 2012, Anchorage, Alaska.   Navigation areas of focus for this public meeting include: NOAA's charting and hydrographic surveying products, services and information for the Alaska/Arctic region; and NOAA's geospatial, tide and currents products, services and information. Maritime transportation representatives presenting at the HSRP Anchorage meeting include: the Marine Exchange of Alaska

APRG Expands Training & Response Team

The Alaska Pacific Response Group L.L.C. (APRG) has added Dick Jackson and Tom Jones to its ICS training and oil spill response team staff. Jackson, formerly with Mobil Oil, will be the primary representative for Oregon and California. Jones, formerly with Alaska Clean Seas will be the primary representative in Fairbanks, Alaska and serve APRG's clients in Alaska's interior and North Slope. APRG provides OPA 90 Qualified Individual Services

Alaska Awards Metlakatla Ferry Contract to Conrad Industries

Conrad Industries emerged as the winner to build a new ferry for the high profile customers Alaska Marine Highway. AMH sees the signing as the ushering in of a new era in marine transportation for the community of Metlakatla with the signing of the contract. The new vessel will provide dedicated service between Metlakatla and Ketchikan, two of the Inside Passage's southernmost communities. Southeast Region Director, Bob Doll

Marine Board of Investigation Begins Interviewing Witnesses in Casualty

The Marine Board of Investigation into the Alaska Ranger convened began interviewing witnesses in the Alaska Ranger casualty Capt. Michael Rand, USCG, and Mr. Liam LaRue, NTSB, from the board gave statements as to the purpose of the investigation, their authority and the scope of the investigation. The recorder Lt. j.g. William Fitzgerald, Coast Guard Sector Anchorage, swore in the board. The first witness called was Capt. Scott Krey, master of the fishing vessel Alaska Warrior

Trans-Alaska Pipeline, Crowley Workers Reach 10 Million Hours

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) has announced that its workforce has achieved a major safety milestone: 10 million hours worked without an OSHA Day Away From Work Case (DAFWC). Of those hours, Crowley contributed towards working 20 percent of them, or 2 million hours, safely. This means that since June 2009, no TAPS worker, including the more than 225 Crowley employees, has been injured to the extent that they missed a day of work.