Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Norwegians Exploring Idea of Transshipping Port In Western Alaska

Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell says one of Norway’s oldest shipping firms, Tschudi Shipping Co, is exploring the possibility of establishing a transshipment port in western Alaska.

The lieutenant governor made the announcement Nov. 12, calling it a tremendous step toward developing Alaska’s economic opportunities in Arctic shipping. Treadwell said that the Tschudi family understands the strategic position of Alaska and the practical value of new opportunities as ice recedes.

“We’ve long known that ports in Western Alaska, including Adak and Dutch Harbor, offer a valuable global location with links to trans-Pacific routes,” Treadwell said. “As we look to develop our Arctic economy, we believe this opportunity to link ports in Europe on trans-Atlantic routes to ports in Alaska will be an important first step.”

Tschudi operates shipping, offshore and logistics worldwide with particular focus on east-west cargo flows between Northwest Europe, Central Asia and Russia, including logistics in the Norwegian and Russian Arctic. Treadwell said Tschudi wants to establish a location to serve as an intermediate or transshipment site for goods and commodities shipped to and from Scandinavia and Europe via its port facilities in Kirkenes, Norway, along Russia’s Northern Sea Route and through the Bering Strait bound for Pacific ports in the continental United States, Alaska or Far East Ports.


Discussions with Tschudi began several weeks ago in Iceland. They continued last week at a workshop organized by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Institute of the North in cooperation with the Norwegian Embassy in Washington and the Centre for High North Logistics to explore shipping opportunities.