Cargo Business Newswire

Monday, February 23, 2015

Alaska’s Port of Nome may be expanded to serve Arctic ships

The U.S. Army Corps is poised to reveal the first steps for expanding deep-water ports to serve Arctic trade ships. They said their main focus will be to expand the existing Port of Nome.

"The report is making the recommendation for construction at Nome at this time, basically due to its highly developed area, having a good runway, good hospital, (and the) strong support that’s already there," said Bruce Sexauer, chief of the Alaska Army Corps’ civil works branch.

The Corps envisions a system of deeper ports to be

developed throughout Western Alaska.

Sexauer reports that increased traffic in the Bering Strait and growing resource extraction in the Arctic — including prospective oil and gas development in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas — necessitates a focus on Arctic ports, starting with Nome.

The full Corps report will be released to the public by the end of next week.

For more of the Alaska Public Media report: www.alaskapublic.org