Some cruise lines have misgivings about tying onto part of a Skagway dock because of the danger posed by a large rock. They are looking at a solution that will allow all scheduled ships to come to town this season. But this will mean a shorter visit for some passengers.
Last summer some rockslides above the railroad dock in Skagway caused the cruise lines to cancel dockings there through the end of the season. Now, there are mitigation measures in place to catch any falling rocks and Borough Manager Brad Ryan says the cruise companies seem satisfied with the measures. Still, one large rock, known locally as ship rock, could fall and that scenario has cruise lines reconsidering their docking schedule.
Ryan: “There seems to be some concern on the larger rock and potentially that moving. We have dual monitors we are going to have on it so we are comfortable, but some of the cruise lines are not.”
The large rock looms over a short section of dock close to town. The remainder of the dock is long enough to accommodate two cruise ships, provided one of them is relatively small. But on some days both scheduled ships are too large to fit together. So, Ryan says, the cruise lines have decided that on those days, each ship will spend half a day in port.
Ryan: “The cruise lines have indicated that there are certain days that they are going to hot berth. Which means one ship will come in early, be here for about six hours or so, it will pull off, and then the second ship will come in and be here from about two o clock until the evening.”
This arrangement might be necessary about fifty times this season. Cruise lines are trying to cut down on that number. Ryan says they are looking at ways to fit the long ships into the shorter space.
Ryan: “They are ordering more bollards, trying to slide the ships back, they are talking about coming in and flipping around so that the port side goes to the dock. There is a whole bunch of conversations trying to cut those hot berths down, nobody wants it, but it might be the only answer for those 45 to 55 days, that’s primarily Tuesdays, Wednesdays,Thursdays with the larger ships. Those conversations aren’t over, we are all trying to work towards a good solution there.”
The slopes above the dock will be monitored closely, according to borough administration. The municipality is contracting individuals who will spend the summer living in wall tents east of the slide area. They will spend eight to ten hours a day watching for rock slides. They will be equipped with radios so that they can alert traffic handlers below if they see or hear rocks starting to move.
Ryan: “There is about twelve to twenty seconds from the time you notice a rock slide up there before it would reach the docks. And so that would be enough time for a bus to pass through, and obviously, if we started to hear one we’d stop the busses beforehand.”
Ryan says these measures are redundant, as a series of nets and barriers are being set up on the slope to slow down and catch any falling rock. He says those systems are on track to be ready by next Tuesday when the first cruise ship of the season will dock.
