Southcentral Alaska News

Bellingham, Wash. shipbuilder All American Marine (AAM) has promoted Ron Wille to the role of president.AAM's business development manager since 2018, Wille brings to the role considerable maritime industry experience, having previously managed and directed large company operations. He has also worked on tugboats that specialized in commercial towing and ship assist in Southcentral Alaska. Of particular note, while Wille worked at Kenai Fjords Tours in Seward, Alaska, the company purchased and operated three AAM hydrofoil-assisted catamarans.A licensed merchant mariner…

All summer long, a crimson and white boat moves back and forth through the waters near the Port of Alaska collecting silt, sand and gravel off the seafloor to allow vessels to navigate the harbor in Anchorage. The boat is a dredging vessel called the Westport, operated by Manson Construction of Seattle, Wash., which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District contracted to maintain the mooring areas for the past three years.An estimated 2,400 to 2,600 cargo containers arrive…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced that it has awarded more than $280 million in discretionary grant funding through the new Port Infrastructure Development Program. This funding is designed to improve port facilities at or near coastal seaports.The Port Infrastructure Development Program supports efforts by ports and industry stakeholders to improve facility and freight infrastructure to ensure our nation’s freight transportation needs, present and future, are met.

Alaska Oil Company Agrees to Pay $10 Million in Penalties to Settle Federal Claims for Violating the Jones Act. Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that Furie Operating Alaska LLC (“Furie”), a company whose focus is exploration and production of natural gas and oil in Cook Inlet, has agreed to pay $10 million to satisfy a civil penalty originally assessed against it by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) for violating the Jones Act. Furie was penalized when it transported the Spartan 151 jack-up drill rig from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska in 2011 using a foreign flagged vessel without acquiring a waiver of the Jones Act from the Secretary of Homeland Security. This resolves a civil lawsuit filed by Furie in 2012 challenging the assessment of the civil penalty.

It is time for the global maritime industry to push development of Trans Arctic Shipping Routes (TASR) and port facilities along Alaska’s northern coast. Not only for shipping goods from the Pacific to Atlantic and vice versa, but specifically to facilitate development of specialized ports for LNG exports from Alaska to global markets. Alaska has a limited maritime community mostly in the south: Southeast Alaska is a maritime community; South Central, Valdez, The Kenai Peninsula and Anchorage much less so; Southwest Alaska and Aleutians have fishing fleets and the Western, North Slope coasts and, the Interior have only marginal connections to large scale maritime activities. Nearly all Alaska’s vast energy resources, LNG and coal, are on the North Slope.

Australia-based Buccaneer Energy sees its 'Endeavour – Spirit of Independence' en route to Cook Inlet, Alaska. Buccaneer says it jack-up rig has been loaded on to the heavy lift vessel Kang Sheng Kou bound to drill for fossil fuels in waters off the coast of Alaska. The delivery of the Endeavour jack-up rig to the Cook Inlet will complete the first phase of Buccaneer’s business plan started almost 2 years ago. That plan included the acquisition of the Endeavour and the modification and repairs in Keppel FEL shipyard, which was managed by Buccaneer’s internal management team. The Endeavour project was funded through a joint venture company Kenai Offshore Ventures, LLC (“KOV”).

Crowley's Ocean Rangers Have Protected Alaska's Environment Since 2008. The State of Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) has announced that it has awarded a contract to Crowley Maritime Corporation to continue administering the State of Alaska's Ocean Ranger Program, effective November 2011. The contract directs Crowley to recruit, hire, train and organize the logistics of placing Ocean Rangers on board cruise ships each season to act as independent observers and to assure compliance with federal and state environmental health, sanitation and safety requirements.

Nome Mayor Denise Michels and a couple hundred guests gathered at the Small Boat Harbor in Seward, Alaska, on May 10 to celebrate the christening of Crowley's newest tug - the Nachik (NAH-chick). Later this month, the company will take delivery of its sister vessel, the Sesok (SEE-sock). Crowley has invested in these two IKKAT (Ick-cut) Class vessels specifically to support Alaska shallow draft challenges and to enhance environmental and safety presence in Alaska waters. The Nachik…