Cruise Lines Score Win in Alaska

Looks like the tax the the government approved the tax to be lowered. And at the bottom of the article, it's rumored that Royal Caribbean is leaving the Port of Miami.

Cruise Lines Score Win in Alaska

Alaska's Senate has agreed to roll back a tax on cruise ship passengers that has angered the industry and led some lines to cut back on ships visiting the state.

The tax would be lowered o $34.50 from, according to news reports. The bill still must be approved by the Alaskan House.

The cruise industry has challenged the tax in federal court as an illegal entry tax and the Senate bill would reportedly settle the issue if enacted.

The Alaska Cruise Association said the state will see a 14.2 percent drop in cruise capacity this year, which is 140,000 passengers.

Association officials could not be reached immediately for comment, but the group's Web site noted: Miami-based Carnival Corp. & PLC (NYSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) previously stated that the move of Holland America's 1,270-passenger Ryndam to Europe in 2011 and Princess Cruises' 710-passenger Royal Princess to P&O Cruises were in line with the continued drop in Alaskan deployments.

Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) spokespersons did not have immediate comment on the bill's passage.

Richard Sasso, who leads the marketing committee for the Cruise Lines International Association in Fort Lauderdale, said: "We need to be careful that destinations don't underestimate the value of cruise ships going to destinations and the economic contribution that makes."

Overly aggressive taxation can put a burden on guests, adding to the cost of a cruise and generate concern among cruise operators that the taxes aren't justified, especially if the proceeds aren't being used to enhance infrastructure related to cruise ships, he said. "What happened in Alaska over the years is they escalated the tax to a point where it seemed to be not only unconstitutional but also not a favorable cost structure for cruise lines to wanting to operate there."

Maritime lawyer Jim Walker of Miami, who is critical of pollution caused by cruise ships in Alaska, wrote on his blog that the vote is a big win for Carnival and its subsidiaries.

In other news

USA Today's Gene Sloan has written an article about what he describes as "Royal Caribbean's slow-motion pullout" from its longtime hub at the Port of Miami.

His posting followed Royal Caribbean's announcement that the 3,634-passenger Liberty of the Seas will move to Port Everglades in November 2011.

Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, which is the world's largest cruise ship, is already based at Port Everglades and the sister ship, Allure of the Seas, will be based there later this year.

The tent-like roof of Royal Caribbean's terminal is a landmark at the Port of Miami, but Sloan noted the company will have only one ship left in Miami in the winter of 2011-2012.

Royal Caribbean can utilize the state-of-the art Terminal 18 at Port Everglades, which is the world's largest cruise terminal. Port Everglades officials have touted the port's next-door proximity to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as a key marketing advantage because it's the discount airline hub for South Florida.

Royal Caribbean's move may put pressure on the Port of Miami, which is contemplating building a new cruise terminal, as previously reported on Cruise Industry report.

The move could also enhance Port Everglades' efforts to challenge the Port of Miami as the world's busiest cruise port in upcoming years.

Governor: Alaska exports total $3.3 billion, down 8.1 percent from 2008

Governor: Alaska exports total $3.3 billion, down 8.1 percent from 2008

By Sean Manget
Alaska Journal of Commerce

Alaska exports totaled $3.3 billion in 2009, marking the fifth best year for trade in state history, said a press release from Gov. Sean Parnell's office.

Things didn't look so positive for exports at the beginning of last year, as first quarter exports were down nearly 30 percent from the first quarter of 2008, the release said.

Fourth-quarter results faired far better; exports went up 12.3 percent from a year earlier.

"Alaskans work hard every day to harvest our resources and produce our exports," Parnell said in the release. "I'm emphasizing improvements in education, workforce development and transportation infrastructure, and that should prepare us to compete and succeed in international opportunities in the future."

Even so, Alaska still lagged behind the previous year overall, with an 8.1 percent decrease in exports from 2008 to 2009, the press release said.

Nationally, exports declined 17.9 percent, with 46 other states posting greater decreases in export value than Alaska.

While seafood and energy exports declined in that period, minerals, precious metals and forest products all saw increased export values.

The state's zinc and lead ore exports increased by 33.5 percent from the 2008 value, coming to $784.7 million. Red Dog mine is the world's largest zinc mine, and accounts for more than three-fourths of all U.S. zinc and lead ore exports, the release said. Korea, Canada, Spain, Japan, China, Italy, Finland, Belgium, Australia and Germany all imported Alaska ore.

Precious metal exports went up 6 percent to $152.6 million. Some $146.6 million of gold went to Switzerland, and $5.1 million of gold went to Canada.

Exports of coal went up 42.8 percent to $33.1 million, and liquefied natural gas accounted for $256.7 million. Liquefied natural gas has been shipped to Japan on a regular basis for more than 40 years, the release said. Pacific Rim countries are key markets for Alaska's energy exports, according to the release.

Refined petroleum product exports fell 70 percent to $38.4 million, a figure the release blames on the international economic crisis. Reduced jet fuel demand as a result of scaled-back flights between Anchorage and Asia left the market for refined petroleum in the tank.

Forest products saw an export increase of 5.5 percent to $87.8 million. Seafood exports fell 9.8 percent to $1.6 billion.

Parnell's office drew these numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau. According to the release, the numbers don't account for Alaska resources transported to and warehoused in other U.S. states before export.

Press Release - Holland America

Here's the press release Holland America sent out on bringing a ship to Anchorage for the first time.

http://www.hollandamerica.com/news/NewsRelease.action?newsReleaseId=712

Helsinki Redevelopment

Here's a link the website for the Port of Helsinki in Finland. Helsinki has 4 major ports in the city, and there are proposals to turn 2 of the 4 into a housing and mixed-use development.

The 2 ports are the North and West Harbours.

http://www.portofhelsinki.fi/default.asp?docId=15733

read all about it

Below are two articles about the proposed ferry port landing. It is a bit heated if you look at the comments section. We are not held to these situations, but I thought you should know about public debate.

Question for you guys: I have been going back and forth on the question of whether we should ask for a meeting with people in the government (mayor's office) who have been looking at this potential project. On the one hand it seems like they would have good insight into the "reality" of the situation, but on the other hand, sometimes too much focus on this bogs the creative part of the project down. In general, people in government like to meet with students, so I don't think it would be a problem getting the meeting, but wanted to throw it out there as a public debate. So, what do you think?

Here are the articles:

from the Frontiersman: "No home in Anchorage for borough’s new ferry"

from the Anchorage Daily News: "Mat-Su ferry almost finished, but port location uncertain"