Wind ripped across the Chilkat Inlet last week as long-time Haines fisherman Brian O’Riley trudged toward a gangway that stretches over Letnikof Cove.
The walkway used to connect to a dock, where fishermen and other boaters would tie up and tuck in amid bad weather. But that hasn’t been an option since 2024, when the dock failed.
“It’s a big pain in the ass,” O’Riley said.
The closest the Haines Borough has come to funding the dock’s replacement was an offer from American Cruise Lines to pitch in up to $4 million for the project in exchange for at least two decades of priority, though not exclusive, docking.
But the U.S.-based company pulled that proposal late last week amid a wave of pushback from locals – O’Riley among them. They voiced concerns about the company’s ships displacing locals from the dock and clogging up the narrow cove.
“We don’t want them cruising around through all our nets and all of our crab pots and shrimp pots, and everybody doing their thing,” O’Riley said. “Leave us alone, go someplace where we’re not.”
The company did not give a reason for dropping its offer. But the move means local officials are going back to the drawing board to find money to replace the dock.
“From where I’m sitting, I’m going to keep charging ahead, trying to creatively fund the match portion of this,” said Haines Harbormaster Henry Pollan. “But this does set us back a little bit.”
The about-face comes as American Cruise Lines expands in Alaska. So far, it has pitched at least three communities on building new infrastructure the company says would better accommodate their ships and, at least in some cases, the public.
At the same time, municipalities across Alaska are struggling to find the funds they need to maintain, fix and replace aging infrastructure.
“There’s just always need,” said Nils Andreassen, the executive director at Alaska Municipal League.
A grim funding environment
Fixing up docks and harbors is expensive. It typically requires government grants, which are increasingly hard to come by.
“The funding availability is shriveling and the windows are very limited,” said Robert Venables, of Southeast Conference, a Juneau-based nonprofit.
And public grants usually require local matching funds, which can be a heavy lift for small communities. Pollan said the Letnikof Dock project would cost more than $8 million. A state grant program could, in theory, cover half of that.
But even then, the borough would be on the hook for more than $4 million – money it says it doesn’t have. Which is why partnering with American Cruise Lines seemed appealing, at least from a dollars-and-cents perspective.
O’Riley, for his part, said he has no problem with the cruise line itself. The U.S.-based company only has small ships, with fewer than 200 passengers. He thinks that’s better than the gargantuan floating cities that can bring thousands of people to town in one day.
O’Riley just doesn’t want the company’s ships in a cove, or tied up to a dock that’s long been reserved for locals.
“I mean, I’d rather have no dock than have those guys in my face,” he said.
Others echoed that sentiment in public comments about the proposal. In a December letter, Aaron Davidman said cruise ships would increase traffic in the area and disrupt fishing.
“We can live without it for the time being — and I say that as a resident who uses this dock,” Davidman wrote. “We can work to raise the rest of the funds through grants or other means that will maintain the integrity of the cove, which should remain the priority.”
Different approaches in Wrangell and Petersburg
Haines isn’t the only community where American Cruise Lines is looking to invest as it expands its Alaska business.
The company brought its second ship to Alaska last season, and it plans to bring a third in 2028. After that, the cruise line aims to introduce about one ship per year, American Cruise Lines President Charlie Robertson said during a recent Wrangell Borough Assembly meeting.
“In order to do this, we’ve identified the need to invest in our port infrastructure,” Robertson said.
American Cruise Lines last week declined an interview request about its Alaska expansion or proposals for Haines and other communities.
Wrangell is the furthest along in the process. The Assembly unanimously approved a proposed 40-year tidelands lease with American Cruise Lines earlier this month, after more than a year of negotiations.
Under the agreement, the company would pay for and build a floating dock for its small cruise ships. The borough would cover the cost of filling in part of the waterfront, using revenue bonds paid back through ports and harbors funds, not local tax dollars.
In return, the dock – which could be completed as soon as May of 2027 – would be open for public use when ships aren’t in port.
In Petersburg, meanwhile, the borough is still negotiating with the cruise line over what a potential infrastructure deal might entail. But it’s poised to look pretty different from the retracted Haines proposal.
Petersburg Harbormaster Glorianne Wollen said it seems American Cruise Lines might propose leasing waterfront from the borough and building its own private dock. So far, locals have focused on ensuring they have a say over details like the size of ships that visit, and how often they come.
“The community doesn’t want to give over control. And American Cruise Lines has seemed pretty responsive to that,” she said.
The borough initially considered building a public dock and then leasing it to the cruise line. But Wollen said that idea came with a big price tag – and concerns over whether the investment would pay off for locals.
“At that point, it became, well, you know, what’s in it for us?” Wollen said.
Back in Haines, O’Riley shared a similar sentiment. As he sees it, offering a cruise line two decades of priority docking, with an option to extend 20 more, just isn’t worth $4 million.
“That’s chump change,” he said.
Colette Czarnecki contributed reporting from KSTK in Wrangell.
