New boat lift expected Tuesday

A mix-up with the new 300-ton boat lift meant the five shipping containers with the unassembled lift were sent to Anchorage instead of Wrangell this week.

The error apparently occurred sometime after the containers were off-loaded in Tacoma. Instead of being placed on a Wrangell-bound barge from Seattle, they were placed on an Anchorage-bound barge by a cargo subcontractor employed by AsCom S.p.A, the Italian-based manufacturer of the new lift, according to harbormaster Greg Meissner.

The containers made it as far north as Juneau before being off-loaded there. They will be shipped south to Ketchikan and then back up to Wrangell, borough officials said.

“I don’t know who to blame at this point,” Meissner said.

The $1.3-million lift has been in the works since April 2013, after the borough selected the low-bidding Italian firm over Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin-based Marine Travelift, which manufactured the existing 150-ton lift at The Marine Service Center. Delays in manufacturing – and at one point borough-driven design considerations – have caused several revisions to the estimated arrival date, most recently given as April 22.

Harbor officials responded to the shipping error by arranging for the containers to be placed on a southbound barge, with a possible transfer point in Ketchikan, meaning harbor officials now expect the lift to arrive Tuesday.

Asked if the borough would reconsider purchasing future equipment from AsCom, Meissner was circumspect.

“If I was going to buy a machine, I’d definitely consider it,” he said. “I don’t know what you can do contractually. Somebody still dropped the ball.”

Borough and harbor officials have portrayed the lift as a method for giving The Marine Service Center a boost. The present lift – along with implemented boat storage changes – caused revenues at The Marine Service Center to double after it was installed in 2006. The new machine would also enlarge the possible target market for the Marine Services Center, which accounts for at least $1 million in revenue for the harbor alone.

Despite the delays, officials were upbeat about the possibility of an imminent arrival, said borough manager Jeff Jabusch.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “We’re happy and ready to go.”

Upon arrival, the machine could require 10 days to be up and running, Meissner has said. Timing is critical for harbor officials as the beginning of the 2014 fishing season looms. Many prospective customers will need to have services performed prior to hitting the fishing grounds.