Bulletins 01/22/12

Alaska Ship and Drydock to build new fishing vessel

Petersburg-based Alaska Longline Co. signed a contract with Ketchikan-based shipbuilder Alaska Ship and Drydock Inc. to build a new 136-foot factory longliner. The new vessel will use the Mustad auto-line circle-hook baiting system, which is considered to be the most modern baiting system in the world. ASD’s entry into the construction market for new fishing vessels is timely because recent changes to the American Fisheries Act will allow Bering Sea fishing vessel owners to begin rebuilding or replacing their vessels. The new factory longliner is scheduled to join the Alaska Longline fleet in 2013. The marine architect for the project is Jensen Maritime Consultants Inc.

USS Anchorage to be commissioned in Anchorage

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus personally delivered the news to each member of Alaska’s Congressional Delegation that the commissioning ceremony for the USS Anchorage will be held in Anchorage next September or October. The news comes in response to letters the delegation members wrote to Secretary Mabus in November requesting the ship be commissioned in the community for which it is named to give locals a chance to show how proud they are to have a U.S. Navy vessel named for the city.

Labor Department sues Alaska energy company

The U.S. Department of Labor has sued an Anchorage-based energy service company for violating the Family and Medical Leave Act. The lawsuit, filed Dec. 30 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, alleges that ASRC Energy Services Alaska, a subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corp., illegally terminated an employee using approved FMLA leave. The Labor Department seeks the employee’s reinstatement as well as $60,000 in back wages. The suit was filed by the department’s Regional Office of the Solicitor in San Francisco and resulted from an investigation by its Wage and Hour Division. Investigators determined that the employer incorrectly had counted weeks an employee was not scheduled to work as weeks of FMLA leave when it terminated the worker for exceeding the approved amount of leave.

Chugach completes $250M financing

Chugach Electric Association has completed a $250 million bond financing at favorable interest rates. The bonds carry a weighted average interest rate of 4.36 percent, with the rate on individual tranches varying from 4.01 to 4.78 percent. The transaction closed on Jan. 11. A total of 18 different institutional investors took a piece of the most recent bond issue following presentations by Chugach last fall in New York, Boston, Charlotte, Milwaukee and Chicago. The bonds are secured by Chugach assets through an indenture of trust. Chugach will use the proceeds to pay down commercial paper and fund capital expansion – primarily its portion of the new Southcentral Power Project, which is scheduled to begin commercial operations in December 2012.

AEA releases draft energy plan for Southeast Alaska

The Alaska Energy Authority, in collaboration with Southeast Conference and the Southeast Alaska Integrated Resource Plan Advisory Work Group has released the draft Southeast Alaska Integrated Resource Plan for public review and comment. The plan is available from AEA’s home page, akenergyauthority.org. Written comments can be emailed to seirp@aidea.org, faxed to (907) 771-3044 Attn: SEIRP, or mailed to SEIRP at Alaska Energy Authority, 813 West Northern Lights Blvd., Anchorage, Alaska 99503. AEA must receive comments by 5 p.m., March 19.