A Sept. 14 fire at the Chugach Glacier Gateway cruise terminal in Whittier, Alaska, damaged the passenger catamaran Klondike Express, prompted the cruise ship Norwegian Jade to leave the berth, and drew a multiagency emergency response. No injuries were reported.
Coast Guard Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic watchstanders received a report of the fire at about 11 a.m. The Klondike Express, operated by Phillips Cruises & Tours, was moored at the terminal with no passengers aboard.
In its initial account of the incident, the Coast Guard said the Klondike Express caught fire while moored and that a fire aboard the vessel was extinguished after it was released from the pier.
Phillips Cruises & Tours managing partner Casey Neumann said the Klondike Express itself was never on fire. She said the vessel was being stored at the terminal under a mooring agreement and was not connected to shore power. No generators or other equipment had been left running aboard, she said.
“The boat was left with no shore power tied to the dock, and no generators or any equipment was left on,” Neumann said. “Simply storage for this time of year while our other vessels handle most daily capacity needs.”
Neumann said Phillips brought its Chugach Express over to help move the Klondike Express away from the pier.
“Our amazing team brought the newly constructed M/V Chugach Express over to help tow it away and assist as well as we could,” she said.
“Klondike sustained significant damage, but we are lucky there were no injuries,” Neumann said.
The Chugach Express, an 84.5' aluminum catamaran built for Phillips by All American Marine, Bellingham, Wash., entered service in summer 2024. The vessel is Coast Guard rated for 150 passengers and has a fully loaded cruising speed of about 32 knots.
Firefighters from Whittier, Girdwood, and Anchorage responded to the incident along with Coast Guard personnel and other emergency responders. The Coast Guard established a 500-yard safety zone around the site and deployed personnel from Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic and a response boat crew from Station Valdez.
A Coast Guard pollution response team was also sent to the scene. NOAA reported Sept. 15 that all 2,000 gals. of diesel aboard the Klondike Express had been accounted for and that no sheen was reported.
The Norwegian Jade, which had been berthed at the terminal when the fire began, departed the area without damage, according to NOAA.
The incident also prompted the temporary closure of the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, which provides road access between Whittier and the Seward Highway. The tunnel reopened at about 2 p.m.
Phillips said its operations would continue using other vessels in its fleet.
The 137' aluminum Klondike Express was built by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Freeland, Wash., and entered service in 1999. The high-speed catamaran is powered by twin MTU 16V4000M63L engines, cruises at about 34 knots, and is Coast Guard licensed for 332 passengers plus crew. The vessel has a 4,000-gal. fuel capacity.
Phillips uses the Klondike Express on its 26 Glacier Cruise in Prince William Sound.
The Chugach Glacier Gateway is an approximately $80 million cruise terminal developed by Huna Totem Corp. in collaboration with the City of Whittier and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. The double-berth facility welcomed its first cruise ship in September 2024.
The cause and origin of the fire remained under investigation Sept. 15.
