Haines to review private management bids for Port Chilkoot dock
Two proposals pair long-term leases with floating dock plans and efforts to increase cruise passenger traffic.
The Haines Borough Assembly will consider competing proposals for private management of the Port Chilkoot cruise ship dock. One comes from Global Ports Holding, while the other was submitted by Port Chilkoot Development Corporation, a partnership between Huna Totem Corporation and Survey Point Holdings.
Neither proposal guarantees the borough more revenue than it currently collects. Borough staff projected $818,000 in Port Chilkoot Dock fee revenue for the current fiscal year. The offers are not final, and the borough has retained the option to negotiate revised terms.
PCDC proposes a 35-year lease with payments of $9 per passenger and a guaranteed minimum of $250,000 annually. Global Ports proposes a 20-year lease with two options: a $2.6 million upfront payment plus $100,000 in yearly rent, or no upfront payment and annual rent of $425,000.
Both plans include proposed floating docks. Global Ports estimates its project would cost $5.33 million, while PCDC puts its plan at between $8 million and $12.5 million.
Haines recorded 67,833 cruise passengers in 2025, with about 72,000 scheduled for 2026. Global Ports projects annual traffic of 96,500 to 274,500 passengers by 2046. It also proposes a binding annual passenger cap that would increase in five-year stages from 175,000 to 275,000 over the lease. PCDC does not propose a binding cap.