Photos by Kurtis R. Morin
From the commercial shipping sector, the Council will continue to encourage the International Maritime Organization to develop what it calls a “mandatory polar code” for the Arctic Ocean. That acknowledgement by the international body of increased shipping activity in the Arctic region is what has Alaska commercial operators particularly interested. One of those interested parties is the Ketchikan Marine Industry Council.
Ketchikan’s shipyard is the largest shipbuilding and repair facility in Alaska and is operated by Alaska Ship & Drydock, under ownership of Vigor Industrial. Ketchikan offers a dense “cluster” of marine-industry-related businesses that employ some 1,700 workers.
the public’s thirst for Arctic tourism not waning, the Arctic Council for 20132015 included the topic Safe Arctic Shipping as one of its priority areas of focus.
From the tourism standpoint, the body hopes to develop international guidelines for sustainable tourism and cruise-ship operations.
southeast’s eye on the Arctic When some Ketchikan business operators put their heads together over the last two years, they discovered that Ketchikan is home to more than two hundred maritime-related businesses and some 1,700 marine-industry workers dispersed across nine key subsectors: marine transport and logistics; shipbuilding and repair; marine civil construction; marine vendor base (for example, local fuel docks); ports, harbors and supporting infrastructure; related professional services; allied industries (supporters, such as Best Western Landing hotel and restaurant, the lo-
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Alaska Business Monthly | September 2013
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