<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Cruise passengers lined up to return to their boat in July 2024 (KCAW Photo) </figcaption></figure><figure class="wp-block-audio"></figure>

The City of Sitka has its first agreement with the local, privately owned cruise dock. When the Sitka Assembly met on November 12, it approved a “Memorandum of Understanding” or MOU with the Sitka Dock Company.

The agreement between the city and the dock establishes Saturday as a “quiet day” with fewer than 1,250 passengers, and sets a 7,000 passenger ceiling for other days, based on lower berth capacity. The assembly first reviewed the MOU in late October, but postponed a vote to give the community more time to review the document. By signing the MOU, both the city and the cruise dock would agree to maintaining the 7,000 passenger ceiling, but the MOU focuses more heavily on what the city can do to limit cruise traffic to keep it under that threshold, like limiting ships at city-owned docks during the shoulder season. That’s why assembly member Thor Christianson continued to push back against the MOU. 

“I could probably go with it if we said, ‘Okay, we’re going to keep the numbers, everybody, below 7000, but that’s not what it says. It says the city is going to give up everything. We’re going to give up all of our lightering fees,” Christianson said.

“And there’s no restrictions. There’s nothing in there that says they can’t put two super maxes at the same time,” Christianson added, referring to the cruise dock’s capacity to hold two of the larger neopanamax ships.

But Assembly member Kevin Mosher felt like the MOU was the logical next step following the recommendations of the city’s tourism task force and a commitment to what the city’s policy will be. 

“If we don’t sign this right, or do this, it sends the entirely wrong message to the industry and to this community,” Mosher said. “It will bring uncertainty, and we don’t want uncertainty. The whole point of this has been to bring certainty.” 

Assembly member JJ Carlson said she supported the policy, but not the document itself. 

“This is all things that we will be doing and we will be communicating to Sitka about, and there’s no need to sign an agreement with a private entity to tell Sitka what our municipal infrastructure will be used for,” Carlson said. “We could, within a week, get this policy going, if the group decides to direct the our staff to do so, and it could be effective in the same amount time frame for the 2026 season, but under our control.” 

Only two Sitkans spoke during public comment, one in favor of the MOU, and one against. Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz said they’d received a lot of emails on the MOU, many he said called for an “all or nothing” approach to cruise ships. Eisenbeisz felt like the MOU was a first step to help curb the highest numbers. 

“I’m not going to disagree that this is a one-sided MOU. It’s showing the city’s intent to exercise the one lever that we have, and that’s our community-owned berthing facilities and lightering facilities,” Eisenbeisz said. “We can make those adjustments to make sure that there are no more 10,000 passenger days, which I think all of us are very desirous of. On the other hand, if we do nothing, we are guaranteed 10,000 passenger days this next year, and I’m not in favor of that. That’s a drastic overload.”

Ultimately though, Eisenbeisz felt the assembly should develop a docking policy to incorporate into city code. The assembly approved the MOU on a 4-3 vote with Eisenbeisz, Mosher, Chris Ystad and Tim Pike in favor and assembly members Christianson, Carlson, and Scott Saline opposed. The MOU goes into effect immediately, with a five year term. 

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