Last Updated on February 22, 2025 by Mrunal & Jiten
JUNEAU — The Alaska House on Monday unanimously advanced a measure intended to allow a state-owned corporation to finish building a new cruise ship dock in Seward.
If approved by the Senate, House Bill 65 would give a total of $135 million in bonding authority to the Alaska Railroad Corp. The corporation is planning to complete construction in time for the 2026 cruise ship season.
Kodiak Republican Rep. Louise Stutes said over 200,000 cruise ship passengers used the port last year. She said “a revitalized passenger dock” in Seward would grow Alaska’s infrastructure and economy. In addition to cruise ships, the dock could be used to transport goods, Stutes said.
The Legislature last year passed a similar bonding measure after midnight on the final day of the legislative session. Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed the bill, and four others, with concerns that signing those measures into law would violate the Alaska Constitution.
Fairbanks Republican Rep. Frank Tomaszewski was the lead sponsor last year behind the vetoed measure, which he said “was a terrific piece of legislation.”
”This is going to be a great driver to increase tourism in the region, and not only in the Seward area, but throughout the state of Alaska,” he said on the House floor before Monday’s final vote.
The Legislature previously gave the Alaska Railroad $60 million in bonding authority in 2022 to renovate the dock. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last year awarded the City of Seward a $46 million grant to deliver power to cruise ships at port.
Built in 1966, officials with the city of Seward say the dock is at the end of its useful life.
Bill O’Leary, CEO and president of the Alaska Railroad, told legislators that the 59-year-old dock has required significant maintenance expenses to safely operate this summer.
“It’s unclear how long such repairs will be tenable,” O’Leary said in a prepared statement. “We believe new construction is essential for the long-term viability of Seward as a cruise port, and that this bill is critical to that effort.”
The state will not be liable for the Alaska Railroad’s bonded debt, O’Leary added.
Royal Caribbean Group — the anchor tenant behind the Seward dock — told lawmakers that the renovated port will be able to host its largest Quantum Class cruise ships, which can carry over 5,600 passengers.
Preston Carnahan, regional vice president of Royal Caribbean Group, said it would be “critical” for the Legislature to approve the $75 million in additional bonding authority this year to meet the 2026 project deadline.
Sean Maguire is a politics and general assignment reporter for the Anchorage Daily News based in Juneau. He previously reported from Juneau for Alaska's News Source. Contact him at smaguire@adn.com.
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