Port of Alaska, Maritime terminal in Anchorage, United States.
The Port of Alaska is a cargo terminal in Anchorage where large ships arrive to load and unload goods using heavy equipment. The facility sits on the water and handles different types of cargo ships throughout the year.
The Port of Alaska opened in September 1961 and handled over 38,000 tons of cargo across a single berth in its first year. It was the only port in South Central Alaska to survive the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, after which it became the region's main shipping hub. It has since grown to a five-berth terminal, and in 2017 the Municipality renamed it Port of Alaska; in January 2024 it became the Don Young Port of Alaska.
The port was renamed Port of Alaska in 2017 and Don Young Port of Alaska in January 2024, honouring the congressman who died in 2022. Two carriers, Matson and TOTE Maritime, run container service from Tacoma, and cruise ships call in small numbers.
The port is a working cargo facility on the Knik Arm, and the docks are not open to casual visitors. Ships and cranes are best seen from the Ship Creek and Government Hill side, and the adjacent Alaska Railroad freight yard shows how freight moves inland.
The port has been a designated strategic seaport for the U.S. Department of Defense since 2006, largely because it supplies fuel to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson next door. Nearly all non-ammunition military cargo moving in and out of Alaska passes over these docks.
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