For the Alaska Commercial Fishermen\u2019s Memorial board in Juneau, fighting the city\u2019s downtown cruise ship dock project has been a losing battle.<\/p>\n
After years of protesting the project \u2014 which will make room for two 1,000-foot cruise ships to dock in the Gastineau Channel along the same stretch of waterfront as the granite memorial wall dedicated to lost fishermen \u2014 a final blow was struck Friday.<\/p>\n
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled on an appeal in the case and issued a decision<\/a> favorable to the City and Borough of Juneau.<\/p>\n Board president Carl Brodersen said after losing the lawsuit it filed against the CBJ, the board is now \u201creluctantly but resolutely\u201d searching for a new home for the wall.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a community, we have a duty to honor all the names that are carved on the wall, and all the names that will be,\u201d he told the Empire Friday after the court decision was released. \u201cNo one wants to move a grave, but it is the best option we have.\u201d<\/p>\n For the city, the high court\u2019s ruling validated that they lawfully conducted the process leading up to the construction of the new docks, which began this month. The written ruling also specifically noted there was \u201ca number of opportunities\u201d for public input over the years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve always believed that the courts would rule in the city\u2019s favor, that we\u2019ve done our due diligence to make sure that we follow every federal, state, local planning rule regulation,\u201d CBJ Port Director Carl Uchytil told the Empire on Friday by phone. \u201cIt\u2019s certainly within the Fisherman\u2019s Memorial\u2019s (right to) file lawsuits. In speaking with (the CBJ law department) and others within the state and others familiar with maritime law, we\u2019ve always believed that we were on sound ground moving forward with the project.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Battle for bigger docks<\/strong><\/p>\n The fishermen\u2019s memorial board, a nonprofit organization, expressed concerns about the city\u2019s dock project as soon it got traction and funding about six years ago.<\/p>\n The dock project entailed building two floating concrete berths in the channel about 200 feet offshore from the downtown pier. The idea was to accommodate what\u2019s known as Panamax-sized cruise ships, the largest size vessels that can traverse the Panama Canal.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city of Juneau doesn\u2019t have sufficient pier space to accommodate what the trend is in the cruise industry: larger and heavier vessels,\u201d Uchytil said. \u201cWhen the docks were built in the \u201820s, \u201830s, \u201840s and \u201850s, a huge vessel was (considered to be) 400 feet. Even in the \u201880s, (huge was considered) 400 feet. Now we\u2019ve got vessels that are coming to Juneau that are in excess of 1,000 feet.\u201d<\/p>\n With the new berths, Juneau would have a total of four that could accommodate cruise ships of that size.<\/p>\n One of the intended results of the project is less lightering, which is when a vessel is too big to access a berth and instead anchors out in the water and tenders tourists back-and-forth to port. Less passengers are likely to come ashore to see the capital city when that happens.<\/p>\n \u201cThe retailers and people selling tours will actually see an increase in revenue because those vessels will be seeing less lightering operations,\u201d Uchytil said. He added, \u201cThe cruise ship industry is very important to Juneau \u2014 nearly 20 to 25 percent of all sales tax collected are from cruise ship passengers.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018Hallowed and solemn\u2019 site<\/strong><\/p>\n Members of the Fishermen\u2019s Memorial Board almost immediately saw the dock project as a problem.<\/p>\n Board members believed the new docks would interfere with their annual Blessing of the Fleet ceremony<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hundreds of Juneau residents attend the ceremony, usually held the first Saturday in May, to wish fishermen and women well at the start of the fishing season. People throw roses in the water and cheer for fishing boats parading in the channel. Bagpipes play, and in years past, the governor attends and gives a speech.<\/p>\n