American Cruise Lines Plans $3M Floating Dock in Wrangell
ACL may use the former American Empress hull as the dock foundation, while a related fill project would add two acres for loading, freight and port activities.
American Cruise Lines is pursuing a $3 million floating dock at Wrangell, Alaska, to berth its ships during overnight stays near the Nolan Center. Kristin Meira, ACL’s director of government affairs, told the Wrangell Sentinel that the company is targeting a 2027 in-service date as the project moves through local lease and waterfront-fill discussions.
The proposal would give ACL dedicated cruise space in a Southeast Alaska port. The line operates 28 small, U.S.-flagged river and coastal ships across U.S. waterways, including Alaska.
Dock plan includes waterfront fill
The development plan is tied to additional city investment discussions. The site sits close to Wrangell’s downtown cruise passenger flow.
A related fill project would place rock over two acres of waterfront to support installation of the dock. The proposal would also create upland space that could be used for passenger loading, freight handling and other port activities.
Former American Empress hull may serve as the foundation
ACL may use the hull of the former American Empress as the dock’s foundation. The 360-foot, 5,975-GT diesel-electric paddlewheel riverboat carried 223 passengers and last sailed for American Queen Voyages on the Columbia and Snake rivers.
ACL acquired the vessel at auction in 2024. Built in 2003 for American West Steamship Co. as Empress of the North, the riverboat was designed as a reproduction of an 1800s-era paddlewheeler and is now being dismantled in Alaska. Tideland Construction received the scrapping work, which began in November 2025.
Wrangell’s existing cruise setup is compact
Wrangell does not have a dedicated cruise terminal. Passengers at City Dock disembark by secure gangway directly into downtown, with basic restroom facilities at the port and other services available on nearby Front Street and Stikine Avenue.
The T-shaped City Dock can handle one mid-sized cruise ship per day, or two very small ships at the same time; larger ships may anchor offshore and tender. A Waterfront Expansion project is already underway to reconfigure and expand City Dock for vessels that currently require tendering.
The borough’s port commission and planning and zoning commission have recommended assembly approval of the tidelands lease for ACL’s dock.
