Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Cook Inlet Natural Gas Pipeline

Port MacKenzie Takes on 16 Miles of Concrete-Coated Pipe

On July 2, stevedores began offloading sixteen miles of concrete-coated pipe from a Panamanian vessel the “Industrial Brio” at Port MacKenzie. After five days of work, the pipe rested on the recently expanded Port MacKenzie barge dock awaiting transfer to a working barge sixteen miles northwest of Nikiski. From there it will be welded together and run underwater from a new natural gas oil platform to Nikiski. The pipe originated in South Korea before making its way to Mexico for the concrete coating. The warm temperatures there were needed to properly cure the concrete, which took three months.

Young Port MacKenzie continues to prove that it can handle project cargo such as this in an efficient manner.

The off-load ended up being accomplished three days ahead of schedule, on-time and under budget. Port Director Marc Van Dongen was enthusiastic about what this means for Port MacKenzie. "We're excited to have this new commodity and expanding our capabilities here at the port. Everything went real smooth.

"A very important ship for Alaska" King Hufford III

We have 16 miles of concrete-coated pipe that’s going to be used for a natural gas pipeline that Furie is building about 16 miles northwest of Nikiski. It’ll be an underwater pipeline running from their new natural gas platform to Nikiski. This summer, when Furie is ready to set the date, “every 36 hours we’ll load an OSV offshore support vessel, like a large landing craft, with about 60 pieces of pipe each time. They’ll shuttle it down the Inlet to the work barge where it’ll be welded together and laying it across the Inlet. It’ll take two or three months to complete the project,” Van Dongen said.

 

King Hufford III of West Pac Logistics was contracted to bring the vessel in, discharge the pipe then ground it on the barge dock. He says Port MacKenzie was the optimal choice for its large lay-down space. There were eight acres available for this project, which provided ample space to maneuver the equipment around the rows of pipe.

“A very important ship for Alaska. It establishes Port MacKenzie as very good place for this type of cargo. You’ll see more pipe come through here.” Hufford said.

Text and Images by Patty Sullivan, and video and music by Stefan Hinman unless otherwise noted.