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Southeast Alaska: Repairs to Berth III Underway After Cruise Ship Allision By MARY KAUFFMAN - The consulting firm of Moffatt & Nichol was hired by the City of Ketchikan to perform the inspection and damage assessment of Ketchikan's Berth III facility which was damaged on June 3, 2016, by the allision of Celebrity Cruises' ship the Celebrity Infinity with the pier.

Celebrity Infinity allision on Friday with Berth III - Photo clip courtesy YouTube video by Maria Harvey

According to information provided by the City of Ketchikan, engineers from Moffatt & Nichol and sub-consultant Alaska Commercial Divers inspected the facility on June 4th and June 5th along with City staff and contractors Pool Engineering and Turnagain Construction. Pool Engineering also performed some preliminary work on the evening of June 3rd to stabilize several damaged elements of the facility.

In a news release, the City said the engineers completed the inspection, drafted the required scope of work and provided that information to both contractors on June 5th with a request to provided a proposed cost and schedule for completing the repairs. The repair proposals were reviewed with the engineers on June 6th and the Ketchikan City Manager elected to award a repair contract to Turnagain Marine Construction in the amount of $928,580 under the provisions of Section 3.12.035(d)(5) of the Municipal Code regarding public improvements on an emergency basis.

Work began on June 7th. The contract includes a requirement for the facility to be repaired and usable no later than July 5, 2016, which is four weeks for the date the work commenced.

Until the Berth III facility is fully repaired it is expected that ships scheduled to moor there will be directed to one of the other three berths if available and to lighter passengers to the vicinity of Berth III and/or Berth IV if possible when no other berths are available.  

After additional discussions, and given that the Berth III tendering float will be within the construction zone and therefore not accessible for use by the public, the following will be the schedule for lightering until repairs are completed.   On Fridays, when Berth I is available in the morning, the Norwegian Pearl will offload passengers at Berth I between 6:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.; the vessel will then anchor out and lighter passengers from and to Casey Moran Harbor beneath Sockeye Sam’s.  On days where there are two ships at anchor, one ship will lighter to and from Casey Moran Harbor beneath Sockeye Sam’s, the other ship will lighter to and from the Berth IV South Float.

Additionally, when there is a ship at anchor, they may have the option of docking at an available Berth after earlier ships depart. City staff also intends to offer Casey Moran Harbor for charter boat operators to load and unload passengers in a cooperative effort with the ship’s tenders.

Coast Guard investigators from Marine Safety Detachment Ketchikan were called to the scene Friday after the Celebrity Infinity allided with Berth III.

Watchstanders at the Sector Juneau command center were alerted of the accident by the ship's pilot Friday afternoon. No injuries or pollution were reported as a result of the allision.

"The Coast Guard is grateful no one was injured as a result of this accident," said Lt. Dianna Robinson, command duty officer at Sector Juneau. "Our personnel are working to determine the cause of this accident and will work with local partners to ensure the continued safety of those using the cruise ship docks." - More...
Thursday PM - June 09, 2016

Ketchikan: Woman Rescued After 80 Foot Fall - An 18-year old female was injured when she fell off a Brown Mountain trail Monday. A 21 year old female contacted the Alaska State Troopers reporting she was hiking with two friends (a 21 year old male and an 18 year old female) in the Brown Mountain area when the 18 year old girl slipped and fell over the side of the mountain and came to rest on a small ledge some 80 feet below.

The 21 year old female hiker reported to the AST at approximately 2:30 PM, that she left the 21 year old male behind to stay with the injured girl while she went to get help. - More...
Thursday PM - June 09, 2016

Alaska: Senate Passes Bill to Cap Permanent Fund Dividend at $1,000 By MARY KAUFFMAN - With an unaudited fund market value of $54 billion as of June 8th, the Alaska Senate voted on Monday night to "protect the dividend" by placing a $1,000 cap on Permanent Fund Dividends paid out to eligible Alaska residents.

Senate Bill SB128, passed with a vote of 14 to 5 with Senator Huggins excused. Voting in favor of capping the Permanent Fund were Senators Lyman Hoffman (D-Bethel), Pete Kelly (R-Fairbanks), Anna MacKinnon (R-Anchorage), Lesil McGuire (R-Anchorage), Peter Micciche (R-Soldotna), Donny Olson (D-Nome), Bert Stedman (R-Sitka ,Ketchikan), Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak), Click Bishop (R-Fairbanks), John Coghill (R-North Pole), Mia Costello (R-Anchorage), Dennis Egan (D-Juneau), Cathy Giesse (R-Anchorage)l, Kevin Meyer (R-Anchorage). Voting against were Senators Bill Stoltze (R-Chugiak) , Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage), Mike Dunleavy (R-Wasilla), Johnny Ellis (D-Anchorage), Berta Gardner (D-Anchorage).

Responding to the vote, Governor Bill Walker said in a prepared statement, “I thank members of the Senate for taking this important vote to put Alaska on the path for a sustainable future. We recognize the concern some have raised about the need for balance, which we have addressed through the remaining pieces of the New Sustainable Alaska Plan. Restructuring the Permanent Fund is the cornerstone of this plan, and a significant portion of it, but make no mistake—the work to put Alaska on a sustainable path is far from over. I applaud the Senate for taking this bold step.”

In a prepared statement, Sen. Anna MacKinnon (R-Eagle River) said, "the Senate took the bold step to address our fiscal challenge. Our economy is faltering and the credit agencies are watching. This is one piece of a plan we have worked all year to accomplish. We made significant cuts and major reforms."

MacKinnon said, " SB 128 preserves Alaskans’ dividend while providing a sustainable revenue stream to fund those services Alaskans count on every day. This was an historic vote – one I was compelled to take – for Alaska’s future."

Sen. Lesil McGuire (R-Anchorage) also released a prepared statement. McGuire said, "A book on Alaska history would begin each chapter with one certain thing: the price per barrel of oil on average that year, multiplied by its volume. That equation has been the nucleus of our history. This bill stabilizes our budget by restructuring the permanent fund distribution to retain a meaningful dividend for every Alaskan, alongside revenue contributions to the general fund."

McGuire said, "This bill is a billion dollar solution to a billion dollar problem. It is the one step among all the options that have been proposed to our budget crisis that we cannot reject. The Senate is so proud to be a part of this meaningful step toward helping Alaskans control and define our own destiny. The permanent fund was created to share intergenerational opportunity and wealth, and this is the final moment to act."

Alaska House Finance has scheduled a hearing & teleconference for Tuesday, June 14, 2016 to address HB 245, the House version of SB 128. - More...
Thursday PM - June 09, 2016