ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska Railroad has approved purchase of a new $137 million cruise ship port in Seward, to be built by a local developer and funded through a combination of loans and bonds.
The facility could be completed in time for the 2026 cruise season.
The Anchorage Daily News reports the railroad’s board on Thursday, Aug. 1, approved the deal to purchase the dock once construction is complete. The Seward Co. is developing the project; Anchorage-based marine construction company Turnagain will build the facility. It will be funded through a combination of a commercial loan and $60 million in bonds approved by the state legislature in 2022. A bill to allow bond funding for the entire project was vetoed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy over concerns it could face legal challenges because it was passed by the state House of Representatives after a constitutional deadline for the end of the legislative session.
The 748-foot floating double-pier berth will replace a 60-year-old facility. The project will also see construction of a new 68,000-square-foot terminal building [see “Alaska Railroad seeks funding for new Seward passenger dock,” Trains News Wire, April 17, 2024]. A 150-foot transfer span will allow direct connection to Alaska Railroad trains or other ground transportation.
The project will be supported in part by a 30-year commitment from Royal Caribbean group, which will have preferential berthing rights. Construction will begin at the end of the current cruise season.
“Large developments are never easy. Today’s greenlight approval was two years in the making,” said Mickey Richardson, CEO of the Port of Tomorrow, representing The Seward Co. ownership, as reported by Must Read Alaska. “The Alaska Railroad Board’s decision to purchase the new facility shows the value of the certainty of the partnership between Royal Caribbean Group, Turnagain, Seward Co., and the executive team at the Alaska Railroad created. The agreement guarantees cruise ships will continue to serve Seward for the next 30 years and beyond.”
NCL already calls at Seward. What will happen to the ferry terminal there? To be honest, anything might be an improvement, today it looks like a shipyard with tons of stacked containers everywhere.