Ketchikan NOAA Dock Project to Begin, Contract AwardedPosted & Edited By MARY KAUFFMAN
April 13, 2021
Under the terms of the $18,771,041 contract, the Alaska-based company will make major improvements, including the construction of a new office building, large floating pier, steel access trestle, and updated power and water utility systems for servicing visiting ships. The project will begin with the removal of the existing pier and related structures.
“This NOAA port revitalization project is a great example of building back better by investing in modern and sustainable infrastructure,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “The improvements to NOAA’s Ketchikan facility will enable the agency to support safe navigation and commerce in Alaska and the region more effectively than ever.” Upon completion of this project, NOAA will have a fully functioning homeport in Alaska capable of supporting Ketchikan-based NOAA Ship Fairweather and other visiting NOAA and government vessels. NOAA expects the project to be completed by December 2022. “We look forward to serving Alaska and the nation from this greatly improved facility,” said Rear Adm. Nancy Hann, deputy director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO). “This represents a major milestone in NOAA’s effort to recapitalize the agency’s fleet and supporting infrastructure.” NOAA’s fleet of research and survey ships is operated, managed and maintained by OMAO, which is composed of civilians and officers with the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps, one of the nation’s eight uniformed services. Governor Mike Dunleavy thanked NOAA for their commitment to rebuild the Ketchikan port facilities needed to house the NOAA ship Fairweather. The almost $19 million project will allow the hydrographic survey ship to permanently return to its Ketchikan homeport for the first time since 2008. “As geopolitical tensions in the Arctic escalate, monitoring and surveying America’s Arctic is of critical importance to our national security,” said Governor Dunleavy. “The move to permanently base the Fairweather in Alaska, as the late Ted Stevens advocated for years ago, is a long overdue step toward defending the national interest.” The NOAA contract awarded to Ahtna Infrastructure & Technologies, LLC, is expected to be completed in December 2022. Funding for the project includes borough, state, and federal funds appropriated over several years since 2012.
“Alaska’s ports play a vital role in supporting our local economies. The State of Alaska welcomes the Fairweather and the federal maritime families who will relocate to Alaska to support it,” said Governor Dunleavy. “I’m happy that our congressional delegation was able to make this happen,” Senator Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, said. “I want to especially thank Senator Dan Sullivan and his office for helping secure this project that will help rebuild the NOAA dock in Ketchikan so that the NOAA Ship Fairweather can be permanently based there. This project has been in the works for over 20 years. It might have fallen through the cracks if it were not for the diligent teamwork by Senator Sullivan and his office, NOAA, and my former chief of staff, Randy Ruaro, who currently serves as Governor Mike Dunleavy’s chief of staff.” Under the terms of the $18,771,041 contract, the Alaska-based company will make major improvements, including the construction of a new office building, large floating pier, steel access trestle, and updated power and water utility systems for servicing visiting ships. The project will begin with the removal of the existing pier and related structures. Upon completion of this project, NOAA will have a fully functioning homeport in Alaska capable of supporting Ketchikan-based NOAA Ship Fairweather and other visiting NOAA and government vessels. NOAA expects the project to be completed by December 2022. This will bring jobs and development to our region in Ketchikan, which has been so hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic and loss of tourism and other business revenues. “I’m very glad that after years of pushing this project, it’s finally ready to break ground,” Stedman said. HISTORY: In 2001, federal law sponsored by former Senator Ted Stevens required the NOAA vessel Fairweather to be homeported in Ketchikan. NOAA owns uplands and a dock at 1010 Stedman Street in Ketchikan. The dock is old and unusable. Sen. Bert Stedman sponsored an appropriation in 2012 of $7.5 million in state general fund dollars to the Ketchikan Borough for a new NOAA homeport facility. In 2018, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan added language to the USCG Reauthorization Act allowing NOAA to accept and spend non-federal funds to build a new dock for NOAA in Ketchikan. Then in 2020, the Ketchikan Borough transferred approximately $7 million to NOAA for the agency to take over the project and build the dock.
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