Yukon River News

“If it works well, then why change it?” might have been the idea of the owner of a new Yukon River salmon tender building at WCT Marine’s shipyard at Tongue Point on the Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon. Owner R. Bodey had Tullio Celano draw up a set of plans from a vessel that he had owned some year before. He took these to Willie Toristoja and his crew at WCT Marine Construction, Inc in Astoria, Oregon where the steel hull and aluminum superstructure were well along by the end of November, 2016. The boat is designed to serve as a tender for salmon on the Yukon River.

After nine years of operation in the harsh, abrasive waters of Alaska’s Yukon River, aboard Inland Barge Service’s push boat Ramona, Thordon Bearings’ RiverTough water-lubricated tail-shaft bearing system has emerged completely free of wear and tear, according tot the manufacturer. The performance of the RiverTough bearings in waters renowned for their high content of gritty glacial silt came to light when the 16-meter workboat’s cracked struts underwent repair in dry-dock. Charles Hnilicka…

Coast Survey has issued provisional charts for barge operators and others traversing Alaska's challenging Yukon River, relying solely on satellite images to create the electronic navigational charts that only display shoreline and shoals (shallow areas). The ENCs, which display no depth soundings, will give the mariners annually updated information to help their navigation along the changeable river. "The Yukon was literally uncharted," Kampia told the group. "After some analysis and brainstorming, we decided to create a prototype ENC using only satellite data.

Crowley Maritime Corporation's group recently completed the sale of 2.836 acres of unimproved land to Nenana Tortella Council on Aging for a mere $500. The lot, which has a market value of $25,000 upon recent appraisal in 2013, will be used by the council as a community match which is required to secure additional funds for a desperately needed, new Senior Center. Crowley’s Nenana terminal serves as a loading port for barges making fuel and freight deliveries to communities on the upper Yukon River, including company owned tank farms in Fort Yukon and Galena.

The crew of the Crowley Maritime Corp. tug 'Siku', operating in Western Alaska, recently rescued six men adrift in the Bering Sea. Shortly before the incident, the men’s 21-foot, aluminum skiff ran out of gas in Hooper Bay and was being quickly blown out of the bay and into increasingly heavy seas. Responding to a request by the Coast Guard, the crew of Siku, which was in the area holding for weather, located the skiff, which was drifting about a mile offshore of Hooper Bay despite having dropped its anchor.

The U.S. Arctic is no longer the place it once was. The environment north of the Yukon River and beyond the vast Brooks Range is warming rapidly. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists predict that by 2020-2030, the Arctic could be nearly free of sea ice during the summer. Open seas will expand opportunities for maritime transportation, tourism, and oil and gas exploration in the region. But as a warming Arctic opens up vast opportunities for commerce and development…

The Sesok, Crowley's newest triple-screw diesel powered tug joined the fleet of Alaska river tugs this month, when it called St. Mary's on the Yukon River to pick up its first barge. Soon thereafter, the Sesok and her crew made stops along the Yukon River in Emmonak, Nome, Hooper Bay and Bethel to meet with Crowley personnel and villagers to celebrate the vessel's maiden voyage with community barbecues. Residents gathered at the barbecues to learn more about the latest vessel to enter the Alaska region and to hear Crowley's commitment to providing the safest and most environmentally sound fuel and freight delivery services in Alaska. The Sesok will continue to work along the coast throughout the season.

Elliott Bay Design Group of Seattle recently completed stability tests and calculations for the KLONDIKE SPIRIT, an all-steel side-wheeler recently built on the Yukon River in Alaska. The vessel, which can carry up to 120 passengers, will be used to take tourists on daytrips through the scenic Yukon canyons downriver of Dawson (Yukon, Canada) when it begins operation in June, 2005. Constructed in Eagle City, Alaska, by Nick Turner and Charlie House, the vessel offers three passenger decks, a food service galley and two staterooms for crews. Eagle City is located along the Yukon River approximately 9 miles west of the Canadian border. The KLONDIKE SPIRIT is the first side-wheeler to be built on the Yukon in decades.

Elliott Bay Design Group of Seattle recently completed stability tests and calculations for the KLONDIKE SPIRIT, an all-steel side-wheeler recently built on the Yukon River in Alaska. The vessel, which can carry up to 120 passengers, will be used to take tourists on daytrips through the scenic Yukon canyons downriver of Dawson (Yukon, Canada) when it begins operation in June, 2005. Constructed in Eagle City, Alaska, by Nick Turner and Charlie House, the vessel offers three passenger decks, a food service galley and two staterooms for crews.

Representative Woodie Salmon from Beaver on the Yukon River would like to see state ferry routes expanded to that historic Interior Alaska waterway. Ktva.com reported that expanding the Alaska Marine Highway System to communities on the Yukon River would boost their economies and foster tourism. Salmon's House Bill 432 calls for the Alaska Department of Transportation to study ferry travel on the Yukon. The bill claims that summertime barge service on the Yukon is slow and infrequent with many communities taking deliveries once or twice per summer. With regular ferry service, the bill suggests, villagers would have another option for…