A cruise ship moored at Skagway’s railroad dock in 2016. (Emily Files)
Tourism season is in full swing in Southeast Alaska. And, a big change is coming to a major cruise ship port in the region.
One of Skagway’s main tourist attractions and port operators is set to be sold to a cruise company.
In a press release Wednesday, Carnival Corporation announced it has entered into a purchase and sale agreement to acquire White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad. The deal includes port, railroad and retail operations.
The railroad, constructed during the Gold Rush in the late 1800s, now takes thousands of tourists each day from Skagway, through the White Pass, and into the Yukon.
But beyond the train itself, White Pass has become an important player in the municipality of Skagway. It’s controlled much of the city’s port since the 1960s.
The railroad operates three cruise ship docks. White Pass owns the infrastructure for all three docks. It leases the tidelands under the ore and broadway docks from the city. That agreement expires in 2023. A few years ago, voters rejected an extension of the lease.
But the port needs to be renovated to accommodate larger cruise ships sailing to Alaska. And the dock the city wants to overhaul is currently controlled by White Pass. So in the last year, the city and the railroad began negotiating to try to find a way forward.
Negotiations on a new lease agreement came to a halt when the Holland America Group, a subsidiary of Carnival, proposed an economic partnership with the city. That proposal has not been advanced, but the city wanted to explore other options beyond White Pass.
As it turns out, this sale is being made through Holland America Princess Alaska Tours.
White Pass is currently owned by the Canadian company TWC enterprises.
Wednesday’s press release says Holland America is working with the Ketchikan-based company Survey Point Holdings to create a joint venture. The company is set to become a managing partner of the port, railway, and White Pass’s retail operations. The venture plans to support port improvements to allow for larger ships.
The sale, for nearly $300 million, is scheduled to close on July 31.
According to Carnival, it will be business as usual in terms of local operations.
Skagway is a busy port for cruise ships. The town of around 1,000 people will welcome close to 900,000 passengers this summer, with ships nearly every day from May through mid-September.
Editor’s note: This story originally stated that White Pass leases two docks from the Municipality of Skagway. In fact, the infrastructure for the Broadway and Ore Docks is owned by White Pass, while their tidelands are leased from the city.
