Wrangell, an island town in southeastern Alaska, is planning to build a ship repair and construction yard to handle maintenance work on ferries, U.S. Coast Guard vessels, research ships, and other vessels. The yard will focus primarily on ship repair and construction, while also having the capacity to build new vessels.
The project has attracted attention due to its staggering investment. The yard covers an area of 42 acres, can accommodate vessels up to 500 feet (approximately 152.4 meters) in length, and has a lifting capacity of approximately 38,000 tons. Once fully operational, it will create 500 jobs. By these measures, the shipyard is not particularly large, yet the project’s investment ranges from $605 million to $726 million.
Officials from the Wrangell Self-Governing District acknowledged: “Although the project investment is capped at $605 million—which is still a massive sum, enough to buy nearly the entire island of Wrangell…—despite the extremely high cost, construction will proceed in phases.”
The Wrangell Self-Governing District is applying to the Federal Economic Development Administration for a $50 million grant, which is currently under review.
The project operator and developer are JAG Marine Group and Pearlson & Pearlson, respectively. JAG Marine is headquartered in Michigan and already owns two shipyards.
Currently, the project has all the necessary supporting infrastructure for electricity, water supply, wastewater disposal, and fuel, but it will still take several years to obtain more than ten required approvals and permits. Therefore, in theory, construction on the project could begin in two years, with a construction period of approximately three years. Before that, several hundred million dollars in funding must be raised.