Nome, Alaska: The next major West Coast port?

The Port of Nome, Alaska is on a quest to be a hub for Arctic shipping. But with the recent decision by Shell to cancel its exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea, it will be hard for the Port of Nome to get dredging funding. Still, there’s hope for one of America’s northern most ports.

It hasn’t been easy for the Port of Nome, Alaska. When Royal Dutch Shell pulled its drilling rigs Polar Pioneer and Noble Discoverer from the Chukchi Sea, the Army Corps of Engineers plans for expanding the Port of Nome, Alaska were put on hold. But you don’t live in Alaska with being resilient, and the Port and the city’s mayor are not giving up on their quest to make this gold rush city a hub for Arctic shipping. Shellacking Shell pulling its rigs was a blow for the region. In a brief statement Shell said, “For an area equivalent to half the size of the Gulf of Mexico, this basin remains substantially under-explored. Shell has found indications of oil and gas in the Burger J well, but these are not sufficient to warrant further exploration in the Burger prospect. The well will be sealed and abandoned in accordance with U.S. regulations. “Shell continues to see important exploration potential in the basin, and the area is likely to ultimately be of strategic importance to Alaska and the US. However, this is a clearly disappointing exploration outcome for this part of the basin.”  “Shell will now cease further exploration activity in offshore Alaska for the foreseeable future. This decision reflects both the Burger J well result, the high costs associated with the project, and the challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment in offshore Alaska.” The Corps’ plans for dredging Nome’s harbor were based on Shell finding a successful well. Besides the dredging, the Corps’ plans included the construction of a 2000-foot extension to Nome’s existing causeway, which was recently completed by Houston-based Orion Marine.  The Corps’ plan was to dredge the harbor to minus 28 feet rather than the present depth of minus 22 feet. But, the dredging plan has now been shelved. In any case, the manager of the port and the Mayor of Nome see things differently. They are convinced a deeper draft is needed and that Arctic ocean shipping will increase with Russia’s, Canada’s and Alaska’s reserves of oil, coal, LNG and other minerals in demand, commercial traffic, research vessels, Coast Guard search and rescue vessels, tourist explorer cruises and defence vessels/submarines increasing in numbers due to global warming. They also believe future dredging should take the harbor depth deeper than what was recommended by the Corp of Engineers — to a depth of minus 36 feet; sufficient to accommodate ice breakers such as the Coast Guard icebreaker, USCG Healy. Vessels designed to operate in the Arctic are under construction in several countries. For example, according to IHS Jane’s on October 27, 2015, Russia’s Vostochnaya Verf shipyard in Vladivostok began construction of the first of two new arctic multi-purpose support vessels to be added to Russia’s substantial Arctic fleet. The small tankers will serve as support vessels for Russian warships working in the Arctic region. They’re also intended to be able to take on patrol functions, tow other vessels, conduct search and rescue (SAR) operations, fisheries’ monitoring and to support civilian shipping and oil and gas operations. They will be built to Russian Arc 4 ice class standard, the second highest level and equivalent to the Finnish-Swedish IA class. The first will be named Mikhail Barskov and will have a range of 1,500 nautical miles and will be equipped with a helicopter pad and a 20 tonne crane amidships. The first of the two vessels is scheduled to enter Russia’s Pacific Fleet November 2017 with the second arriving in late 2019. As well, Canada is scheduled to build one of the world’s largest, most powerful high tech icebreakers at the Seaspan Shipyards in Vancouver. When completed the 150 metre-long ship will be a Polar Class 2 vessel capable of maintaining autonomous operations in the Arctic for nine months of the year. At present the shipyard is building the first ship of several ordered by the federal government, a 63-metre ocean science research vessel. Given the increase in future Arctic shipping and the need for a deep water port, Richard Beneville, recently elected Mayor of Nome, told AJOT that the city is determined to take its case for an expanded port directly to Washington and is now working on presentation materials for use by the Nome delegation at those meetings. He said the next step will include a visit with the Secretary of Defence and to the Congressional delegation from Alaska in Washington. Isolated Joy Baker, Port Director, said, “We’re the only one (port) that’s developed as an existing port. We’ve got an airport with two jets per day. We’re the deepest port on the coast that’s a public facility.  “It didn’t surprise any of us that during the feasibility study Nome was chosen as the most viable.” However, the city of roughly 4,000 has no highway access to any other major city. There are several gold mines where miners sell their gold locally or send it by air into Anchorage to be sold.  “There has been a lot of discussion and a lot of plans and studies about building a road to Nome. There’s also been a lot of talk about building a railroad to Nome. I think maybe in 10 years.  “Two things are certain in our estimation. Clearly there will be oil and gas development in the Baufort and Chukchi Sea in the future. We don’t know when it will happen, but surely it will happen.   “We need to re-strategize our position. There are vital national security issues and life saving issues. The volume of traffic through the Arctic and over the top is increasing, because we’re seeing it.”  “Also, we’ve got to protect our natural resources before they’re gone and protect our people.”