Petersburg Approves 50-Year Lease for American Cruise Lines Dock

Petersburg’s Borough Assembly unanimously approved a tidelands lease with American Cruise Lines, clearing a key local step for the company to build a small-ship mooring float and gangway at the end of Dock Street in Petersburg, Alaska. The 6-0 vote gives the Guilford, Connecticut-based operator a site next to the U.S. Coast Guard Dock for a privately built facility tied to its increasing summer calls in the Southeast Alaska community.

The agreement gives American Cruise Lines a 50-year lease with five-year renewal cycles, starting May 1 at $9,550 a year. The company accounts for 31 of Petersburg’s 85 scheduled cruise calls this summer.

Lease moves project into design review

The borough will lease part of its tidelands to American Cruise Lines, which will be responsible for building the mooring float and gangway. Construction cannot begin until the company submits project plans and works through the details with borough officials and the harbor department.

Harbormaster Glorianne Wollen welcomed the project. “Anything that we can do to enhance the waterfront for watercraft, I think is a benefit,” Wollen told KFSK.

The lease includes limits on vessel size and passenger numbers, and it does not make the borough responsible for maintenance of the privately built facility. Wollen said the borough’s review will focus on ensuring the structure meets local expectations and does not harm existing harbor operations.

The starting rent equals 10 percent of the tideland parcel’s appraised value, using the same calculation applied to nearby leases such as those held by the U.S. Coast Guard and Petro Marine.

Private build replaced earlier partnership concept

Discussions between the borough and American Cruise Lines began in 2024 with an initial concept for a jointly developed cruise dock. Petersburg’s last budget included $1 million from harbor reserves for the project, but borough officials later determined that a lease and private construction model would work better financially and operationally.

The lease and project were reviewed by the harbormaster’s office, the local harbor advisory board and Petersburg’s planning commission before the Assembly vote. A public hearing was held during the first half of the meeting, but no testimony was offered. At a town hall earlier in 2025, residents generally supported additional tourism as long as the borough retained control.

Harbor congestion and regional expansion

American Cruise Lines operates a U.S.-focused fleet of small ships on river and coastal routes, and the Petersburg dock is part of a broader Southeast Alaska push that also includes efforts to develop vessel facilities in Wrangell and Haines.

In Petersburg, the new float would add dedicated cruise capacity in a borough-run harbor system that also serves commercial fishing, workboat, charter, transient and recreational traffic across North Harbor, Middle Harbor and South Harbor. Wollen said the dock could ease summer congestion and give the harbor department more flexibility with tender vessels and fishing fleet activity.

Wollen also said American Cruise Lines’ continued presence is important to the local tour market. “This company is really putting their money where their mouth is, and investing in our community,” she said.

Under the approved lease, the cruise dock must be completed within two years, but borough and company officials have repeatedly pointed to an earlier goal. “Hopefully we’ll have this in place and ready to go for the 2027 season,” Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said during the April 20 Assembly meeting.