Arctic port would be protracted project

US Coast Guard feasibility report to Congress highlights the enormous challenges involved in developing a deep-draft harbor

Wesley Loy

For Petroleum News

A deep-draft seaport to support rising Arctic Ocean activity would reasonably take 10 to 20 years to build, says a feasibility report from the U.S. Coast Guard.

The report doesn’t flatly state whether such a seaport would, in fact, be feasible.

It does underscore, however, the enormous planning, financing and logistical challenges of building a port to support industrial and government operations in the remote polar sea.

As it stands now, no seaport capable of accommodating deep-draft vessels exists along Alaska’s northern coastline.

In recent years, interest has grown in establishing a port, with Arctic ice receding and more waters opening up for navigation. Further, oil and gas exploration is expected to increase in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

Lack of deep-draft ports

“The U.S. marine presence in the Arctic is still in its infancy,” the report says. “Only a small percentage of navigationally significant U.S. Arctic waters have been surveyed with modern technology to determine and chart precise depths and accurately depict all hazards to navigation. Currently, a majority of coastal communities in this area have small, shallow-draft ports, which can only be serviced by barges and small boats. There are no deep-draft seaports in western or northern Alaska and few places of refuge. The nearest facilities and vessels supporting the U.S. Arctic for emergency response are located in Kodiak, Dutch Harbor and Adak, which are 800-1,000 nautical miles from the Arctic Circle.”

The Coast Guard report focuses on the same two sites the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently cited as most promising for a deep-draft port: Nome and nearby Port Clarence Bay.

Both are near the shipping lanes passing through the Bering Strait, gateway to the Arctic Ocean. That’s where a deep-draft seaport should be, the Coast Guard report says.

Daunting construction environment

“The U.S. Arctic region contains significant quantities of natural resources available for extractive activities. These include oil and gas, a wealth of minerals, timber and fish,” the report says. “If harvested sustainably, these valuable resources could provide long-term economic opportunities for Alaska Native corporations, tribal communities, regional commercial enterprises, entrepreneurs and investors. A deep-draft seaport could become a logistics and support link for these activities.”

The report doesn’t give an estimated cost for the port. It says construction could be done in stages, and could involve both private and government funding.

“Developing and maintaining a deep-draft seaport and its accompanying infrastructure anywhere requires resources. This is especially true in the Arctic region, where construction costs can run several times as much as a similar project in the lower 48 states or even elsewhere in Alaska,” the report says.

Development will be difficult, as the potential sites are iced over for several months of the year. Most of the essential building materials would have to be imported, along with dredging and construction equipment, the Coast Guard says.

Project cost would depend on the scope of the project, including construction of such features as breakwaters, piers, cargo handling and ship repair facilities.

The report emphasizes sensitivity to Arctic indigenous people, who have adapted to life in one of the world’s harshest climates and “now must prepare to deal with increases in commercial shipping, oil and gas development, mining and other economic activities”

The Coast Guard also stresses care in siting the seaport, saying: “Alignment of federal, state, local and tribal support to authorize and approve such a deep-draft seaport project would prove to be of immeasurable value in making it a success.”