Alaska Logistics to expand Seward operation

Posted on: December 4, 2009 | musiclover | 6 Comments | Print Article | Rate Post:

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(By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News)

Alaska Logistics' Fish Hawk used to tug barge

The Seward City Council has agreed to have City Manager Phillip Oates negotiate a lease with Alaska Logistics, LLC, to construct a large vessel maintenance, repair and storage enclosure at the Seward Marine Industrial Center in support of their Western Alaska Barge Service. Alaska Logistics has operated a barge service from the railroad dock in Seward for several years, but the vessels are taken outside for service and repairs. Under the proposed lease agreement, the Seattle-based company would lease Lot 2, Block 3 at 3305 Jellison Avenue, (industrial zoning district of Fourth of July Subdivision) from the city for $13,600 per year for five years until Dec 15, 2014. The city will reduce its rate by $8,000 in 2010 however in order to continue environmental cleanup of diesel-contaminated soil stored on a portion of the lot, which was left over from a 2005 spill. The lease also would be subject to fair market increases every 5 years.

Alaska Logistics barge being loaded at Alaska Railroad Dock

Owned and managed by Allyn Long, the company was established in Seattle in 2002 as a small barging service, mainly serving the route between Seattle, Seward and Nome, according to the company’s website. By 2005, it had more than 20 full-time employees, and offered diversified services through Western Alaska. These days, the company’s main field is barging construction materials and equipment, but it also handles stevedoring heavy machinery and equipment.

The Seward repair site at SMIC will generate a significant amount of waste as a result of sandblasting portions of the vessels prior to repair and repainting, and additional waste from such things as used paint cans, spilled paint, and from the operating equipment, the proposed lease document said. Alaska Logistics has submitted an Environmental Compliance plan for water and sanitary disposal, and a plan for complying with applicapable environmental laws for hazardous waste disposal and storm-water permitting. The sandblast grit and paint chips would be collected by placing plastic tarps beneath the vessel and sweeping them into piles for daily collection and placement in containers. Once the barrels or supersacks are filled, they would be placed in a designated ocean cargo container for storage, and then shipped to the Seattle area for disposal by one of several commercial waste disposal firms.

Used motor oil, antifreeze and other hazardous materials associated with equipment operation also will be collected, placed in barrels and stored in a cargo container, and shipped to Seattle. Spills of marine vessel paint will be cleaned up by excavating the gravel beneath the vessel. All workers hired would be issued personal protective equipment appropriate to their duties, the document states. The company also said it would not use the currently-contaminated portion of land until the city had cleaned it.

Oates called the lease to Alaska Logistics “a pretty exciting proposal,” which hopefully will bring additional jobs to the area. The company’s use of an enclosed work space and the fact that the facilities would be created from large used vans that can be stacked and easily be moved around, should eliminate many of the usual environmental hazards, he said. Willard Dunham, the city mayor, says the area has not had much activity, and he would welcome the company working there.

“I think it’s great to have some new jobs coming in,” agreed Councilwoman Linda Amberg at the Monday, Nov 23 city council meeting. She wondered why the city was not asking the company to provide contamination insurance, however. The city is trying to encourage businesses to come to Seward, not drive them away, Oates said. Alaska Logistics would be responsible for any contamination they create, and the city would only be responsible for any contamination they left behind were the company to go bankrupt, he added. Councilman Tom Smith urged the city to do soil testing prior to leasing out the site to gather baseline data. Tim McDonald, who lives at a popular salmon fishing site near SMIC, suggested the city require the company to employ wood, steel, or concrete ground containment, which would help protect the city from liability. Such containment is commonly required by vessel repair companies elsewhere, and it also would lower the company’s insurance rates, and give the new business an environmentally sound beginning, McDonald said.

SMIC including Jellison Ave site of land lease

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