SHIPS OF THE U.S. MERCHANT MARINE 



THE Alaska Transportation Company's operation is primarily a 

 freighter service, with facilities for handling all types of cargo which 

 customarily moves in the Alaska trade. Weekly sailings are maintained 

 from Seattle to the principal ports of southeastern Alaska, v/here con- 

 nections are made with the interior of Alaska and the Yukon Territory. 

 A vital link in the route between southeastern Alaska and the interior is, 

 unfortunately, not open to traffic at the present time, having been closed 

 by slides in British Columbia. Negotiations are now under way between 

 our State Department and the Dominion of Canada seeking re-opening 

 and maintenance of the Haines cut-off road to the Alaskan Highway. 

 When that occurs, it is expected that a substantial volume of traffic to 

 interior points will move via this ocean-to-highway route. 



Principal ports of call on the southeastern Alaska route are Ketchikan, 

 Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau, Haines, Skagway, Sitka and Pelican. 

 Service from southeastern Alaska ports is also furnished to Prince Rupert, 

 B.C., for connection with the Canadian National Railway System. There 

 are frequent Alaska Transport arrivals at Prince Rupert, principally for 

 the handling of fresh and frozen fish products on their way to market in 

 eastern United States. 



Other services are operated mainly to serve the needs of military estab- 

 lishments in southwestern Alaska and on the Aleutian Islands. One route 

 is from Seattle to Whittier, making connection with the Alaska Railroad. 

 The Aleutian Islands sailings go direct from Seattle. The principal ports 

 of call on the latter route are Dutch Harbor, Adak and Attu. 



The major industries of Alaska, and hence the principal sources of 

 traffic, are fishing and mining. The fishing industry is customarily di- 

 vided into salmon canning, the handling of fresh and frozen fish, and 

 the fish reduction phases of the industry. There are at present something 

 over a hundred operating canneries in the Territory, approximately half 

 of which are located in the area served principally by this line, that is, 

 the southeastern or Panhandle district. The normal output of canned 



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