Port of Anchorage

The Port of Anchorage is a critical link between the U.S. state and Alaska, providing an estimated 90% of the merchandise cargo to 80% of Alaska's populated areas. The Port of Anchorage also provides essential fuel supplies to the Anchorage and southcentral area and serves as the entry point for additional goods and cargo distributed to rural Alaskan communities. It is located just north of Ship Creek, near downtown Anchorage, on the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet of the Pacific Ocean.

Geography

The Port of Anchorage is located on the Anchorage side of the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet on the Pacific Ocean.

Climate

The Port of Anchorage operates year-round, but the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet freezes over with pan ice from mid-fall through mid-spring.

Ice

Between October 17 and November 17, the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet ices or freezes over for the winter.^[2]

Between March 10 and May 15, the ice breaks up for the summer.^[2]

History

The Port of Anchorage began operations in September 1961, and in its first year over 38,000 tons of marine cargo moved across its single berth. It was the only port in South Central Alaska to survive the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake and became the main shipping hub for consumer and essential goods entering southcentral Alaska. The Port has since expanded to a five-berth terminal providing facilities for the movement of containerized freight, iron and steel products, bulk petroleum, and cement. The peak of the port's operations occurred in 2005 when, for the first time, more than 5 million tons of various commodities moved across its docks.^[3]

Anchorage is served regularly by two major carriers, Horizon Lines, Inc. and Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE), which bring four to five ships weekly from Tacoma, Washington. Petroleum tankers supply jet fuel for airport operations, barges on-load petroleum products for western and Interior Alaska, and ships from Japan and Korea call frequently, transporting construction materials, pipeline for the north slope, or loading refined petroleum.^[3]

A 128.96-acre (52.19 ha) industrial park adjoins the port to the east. Approximately 80.87 acres (32.73 ha) of the park are under long-term lease to various port users. Additionally, there are 31.0 acres (12.5 ha) for the staging and storage of marine cargo in transit. However, a majority of that acreage is presently occupied by the two major general cargo carriers. In order to maintain market dominance, the port will need to accommodate larger ships, be able to unload containers using better and bigger cranes, and ensure continued service to city businesses, citizens, and the state. As the port celebrates its 50th year of service in 2011, the current facility is deteriorated and must be replaced, leaving the port extremely vulnerable to failure following a large seimic event. The port needs to modernize the necessary infrastructure and intermodal transportation links needed to meet future demands.^[3]

Future

To that end, starting in 2003, the Port of Anchorage undertook an initiative to expand and modernize. This will allow the port to double in size and be a world-class Intermodal facility capable of not only better supporting its current tenants but also positioning it to take advantage of growing opportunities being presented by changes occurring in the global shipping industry. When complete, the Port of Anchorage Intermodal Expansion Project will construct a wharf designed to a higher degree of seismic stability with the addition of three "essential facilities" designed to remain operational following a large seismic event.^[3]

Connections

Rail

Direct connection to Alaska Railroad a Class II railroad serving South Central Alaska and Interior Alaska.

Truck

Nearby truck access to the Alaska intrastate highway routes:

Alaska Route 1 North-East bound, the Glenn Highway to either:

Alaska Route 4, the Richardson Highway North-bound to Fairbanks or South-bound to Valdez/Cordova.
Alaska Route 3 North-bound, the George Parks Highway to Wasilla, Houston, Willow, Talkeetna/Trapper Creek, Cantwell, Denali, Healy, Anderson/Clear, Nenana and Fairbanks.
Alaska Route 2, the Alaska Highway from Tok to Fairbanks or Yukon Territory, Canada.

Alaska Route 1 South-West bound, the Seward Highway to either:

Whittier Tunnel and Whittier, Alaska
Alaska Route 1, the Sterling Highway to Sterling, Soldotna, and Homer.
Alaska Route 9, the Seward Highway to Seward.

Alaska State Routes.

Facilities

Maritime Services

Port facilities include five berths and 0 feet (0 m) of linear dock space. Docks are maintained at a full seaway depth, which is 35 feet (11 m) to 45 feet (14 m).^[4]

The docks have excellent direct connections with the Alaska Railroad, and highway connections to Alaska intrastate highway routes.

? terminal operators use port facilities:

Berths

Dock	Berth Length	Warehouse Storage
1	0 feet (0 m)
2	0 feet (0 m)
3	0 feet (0 m)	0 square feet (0 m²)
4	0 feet (0 m)	0 square feet (0 m²)
5	0 feet (0 m)

Cargo

Annual Tonnage

Tonnage for **Port of Anchorage**
Year	U.S. Rank	Total Tons	Domestic Tons	Foreign Total Tons	Foreign Imports Tons	Foreign Exports Tons	Reference
2006	102	2,926,536	2,306,192	620,344	464,774	155,570	^[5]
2005	94	3,527,469	2,629,553	897,916	430,396	467,520	^[6]
2004	101	3,085,753	2,323,089	762,664	284,347	478,317	^[7]
2003	96	3,178,633	2,494,261	684,372	218,233	466,139	^[8]
2002	102	2,983,137	2,318,653	664,484	251,203	413,281	^[9]
2001	108	2,861,134	2,157,496	703,638	225,281	478,357	^[10]
2000	103	3,157,247	2,416,514	740,733	382,240	358,493	^[11]

Annual Container Traffic

U.S. Waterborne Container Traffic for **Port of Anchorage**, Loaded and Empty TEUs ^A[›]
Year	Domestic Inbound Loaded TEUs	Domestic Inbound Empty TEUs	Domestic Outbound Loaded TEUs	Domestic Outbound Empty TEUs	Domestic Total TEUs	Foreign Inbound Loaded TEUs	Foreign Outbound Loaded TEUs	Foreign Total Loaded TEUs	Grand Total Loaded TEUs	References
2006	227,126	523	47,641	3,216	278,506	0	2,342	2,342	277,109	^[12]
2005	231,274	656	59,864	25,379	317,173	299	1,881	2,180	293,318	^[13]
2004	440,559	207	161,301	61,441	663,508	1,880	527	2,407	604,267	^[14]
2003	223,962	183	58,056	10,423	292,623	383	347	730	282,748	^[15]