Transporting oversized cargo internationally is challenging at the best of times, but when only two windows of opportunity exist within the year to sail it into the icy Bering Sea, the planning, coordination and timing become more crucial.
The Lynden group of companies rose to the occasion when asked to orchestrate the shipment of eight food processing modular units – each weighing 16,000 lbs. – from the manufacturing site in Kauhajoki, Finland, to the Alaskan village of Savoonga on the remote St. Lawrence Island more than 3,700 miles away.
The establishment of the meat- and fish-processing facility supports the Siberian Yupik communities in being self-sufficient in terms of food. It also strengthens the opportunities to commercialize and distribute some of the local reindeer meat and halibut catches more widely.
“We also took great pride in doing a good job on this project because we knew the risks were particularly significant for all of the stakeholders,” Jollet-Gergov adds.
The modules were researched and ordered by Kawerak Inc., a non-profit consortium serving 20 federally recognized tribes in the Bering Strait region of northwestern Alaska, and the North Sound Economic Development Corporation, a private non-profit representing 15 member communities in the region.
When TBI Construction’s owner Jason Bergman was contacted to become involved as the project’s general contractor, he knew from his company’s regular dealings with Alaska Marine Lines, which is part of the Lynden group, that Lynden had the wherewithal to handle this complex delivery.
“I accompanied representatives from Kawerak and North Sound to meet with members of Lynden’s service partners from Sweden at the manufacturing facility in Finland, which really helped us to understand how the modules would be prepared and transported,” Bergman says. “I also really appreciated Lynden being in constant communication with me from the project’s launch until the modules were delivered in Savoonga for installation by my company.”
The Challenge: A Window in Time
The big challenge involved timing everything, so the modules arrived from Europe in Nome, Alaska, well before the first of two sailing windows in summer when the ice in the Bering Sea makes water transportation feasible to the north side of St. Lawrence Island.
Lynden submitted its original proposal and feasibility report in July 2024. Following a review that December, the project was given the green light in January 2025.
“Right from the start, though, we had concerns when the manufacturer informed us there was a delay in producing the units,” Jollet-Gergov recalls. “We scheduled some buffer time but emphasized the need to hurry given there’s always the possibility that vessels will be delayed en route or at a port.”
Lynden’s expert customs brokerage team provided TBI Construction with detailed customs guidance well ahead of the scheduled arrival in the United States. “We took a pro-active approach to ensure there would be minimal government holds or clearance delays,” Jollet-Gergov says.
The US customs clearance was required not only for the prefabricated units built in Finland, but also the separate internal fixtures and food processing equipment sourced from other global suppliers. “With these modules and their related equipment destined to handle food preparation, we made sure we provided all the necessary information from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Department of Agriculture (USDA),” says Jollet-Gergov.
The completed 11-foot-high by 44-foot-long modules were each wrapped in plastic film at the manufacturing facility to minimize potential damage in transit. They were loaded onto trucks for the 108 miles from the plant in Kauhajoki in western Finland to Finland’s Port of Rauma on the southern part of the Gulf of Bothnia. They were next transferred onto a feeder vessel headed to Bremerhaven, Germany, where they were put on special trailers and towed onto a roll-on roll-off ship destined for the Port of Tacoma.
“No international freight forwarder can be successful without great partners around the world because you just can’t be everywhere all at once,” Jollet-Gergov emphasizes. “We’re truly grateful to our exclusive Scandinavian partners for their professional, transparent and positive response to our needs in this and other projects, asking us ‘what do you need?’ as soon as we indicated this project was a go.”
Jollet-Gergov adds that finding and collaborating with trustworthy overseas agents is one of the most fulfilling aspects of her job. “These are people I know I can rely upon to represent and deliver on Lynden’s business culture and values outside the United States and Canada.”
Tariff Complications
On this project, matters suddenly became a lot more complicated when the “America First” trade agenda introduced new tariffs in March 2025, a month after the modules began their sea voyage.
“US import tariffs had been the same for years, so we understood all of them well,” Jollet-Gergov says. “Matt Bykowski, our director of Compliance, did extensive research – which included numerous emails and phone calls to different government agencies – to ensure that our customer only paid what was required for the imported components so the project wouldn’t incur unnecessary costs.”
Once the modules arrived in the United States, Lynden again sprang into action. At the Port of Tacoma, a fleet of trucks was ready to transport the modules to Seattle for loading onto Alaska Marine Lines barges for the voyage to Nome.
“Jason Bergman came down from Alaska and saw how well the modules had been transported before we loaded them onto barges,” Jollet-Gergov adds.
Landing Via Landing Craft
When the modules arrived in Nome, Lynden handled all the shoreside operations, and once the sea ice sufficiently broke up, safely delivered the modules by landing craft vessels to Savoonga.
Bergman applauds Lynden’s total efforts. “It was a great experience, with good communications from Day 1, and great assistance throughout the process, especially in terms of navigating the suddenly volatile tariff situation,” Bergman says. “I also know that this project, which involved nearly all local labor to install and will continue to provide employment, is a great source of pride to the Savoonga community.”
