Global Ports’ Haines transparency pitch has a disclosure problem

Roughly 12 hours after Haines Borough posted documents for its cruise dock management bids, Global Ports Holding asked it to redact the identities of four cruise operators backing the company’s proposal. Borough staff removed the support letters and redacted the list of supporters, staff told the Chilkat Valley News.

That is a poor way to sell transparent management. Global Ports characterized the information as “confidential financial information,” according to borough staff. I don’t buy the idea that the identities of cruise lines endorsing a bidder deserve that treatment in a borough’s dock-management decision.

The operators were Norwegian Cruise Line, Virgin Voyages, Silversea Cruises and National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions. Global Ports’ request arrived Friday morning.

Letters supporting the competing bidder, Port Chilkoot Development Corporation, remain publicly posted. PCDC is a partnership between Survey Point Holdings and Huna Totem Corporation. The removed Global Ports letters remain available through the Chilkat Valley News.

The competing proposals concern Port Chilkoot Dock, roughly half a mile from downtown Haines. How ships get berth access there is a substantive choice. That deserves a public debate with the supporting documents available, not a partial record that treats the bidders differently.

The berth-access argument deserves scrutiny

Survey Point’s subsidiary, Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska, schedules most cruise ship calls in the state. Its “historic priority scheduling” system gives berthing preference to cruise companies with longer-established operating histories.

Global Ports proposes open access without preferential treatment. In its bid, it described itself as unaffiliated with any individual cruise line and pledged fair, transparent treatment for eligible operators.

I prefer the principle of judging access without rewarding incumbency for its own sake. But that makes Global Ports’ disclosure request particularly awkward. The company is asking Haines to value openness in berth allocation while asking the borough to conceal which cruise lines support its bid.

Norwegian’s letter specifically endorsed management “by an independent operator, which we believe best promotes a fair and competitive environment for all cruise lines serving the destination.” Norwegian began regular Alaska sailings in 2000, after Carnival and Royal Caribbean had established operations in the region.

London-headquartered Global Ports has a portfolio of 35 cruise ports across 20 countries. Its references and support letters come predominantly from port authorities and governments where it operates outside Alaska. Ketchikan-based Survey Point has ownership or management interests in cruise facilities in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway.

The endorsements are not exclusive votes

The letters themselves paint a messier picture than a simple division of cruise lines into rival camps.

National Geographic-Lindblad supported both proposals. In its Global Ports letter, executive Jenelle Findley praised the company’s operational capabilities and “a willingness to listen, collaborate and develop experiences appropriate to the destination and to the guests of individual cruise operators.” In a separate letter included with PCDC’s bid, executive Craig Moylan endorsed Survey Point and Huna Totem to lead the partnership’s development plans. The company did not respond to the Chilkat Valley News’ questions about the endorsements.

Royal Caribbean’s backing crosses bidder lines, too. A Royal Caribbean Group executive endorsed PCDC “to lead these development plans” in a letter carrying the group’s brand logos, including Silversea’s. Silversea, wholly owned by Royal Caribbean, separately backed Global Ports to manage the dock.

Norwegian’s support for Global Ports also sits alongside its existing work with Huna Totem to finance docks in Juneau and near Hoonah. Norwegian did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.

PCDC’s references include Juneau city manager Katie Koester, Ketchikan mayor Bob Sivertsen, Hoonah city administrator Dennis Gray and Doyon Limited chief financial officer Patrick Duke. Huna Totem operates Icy Strait Point near Hoonah and has developed additional cruise facilities in Whittier and Klawock.

Those overlapping relationships make the actual wording of the endorsements more useful than a tally of company names. Support for development plans is not necessarily the same as support for a particular dock-management model.

Residents should not have to rely on a newspaper’s copies to inspect evidence that one bidder submitted to help win the job.