Oil patch bits: Lynden delivers relief supplies after Stebbins fire

Petroleum News

As reported by Lynden News Nov. 14, Lynden is known for responsive service and flexibility when schedules and circumstances change. A scheduled Alaska Marine Lines barge delivery for a housing project took a sharp turn when a fire destroyed the village school and teacher housing in Stebbins, Alaska. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy declared a disaster for the village after the fire. "Construction company and customer Tapraq Rock sent an email asking us if we could help get supplies there quickly so they could rebuild the school by August," explains Rick Kellogg, Alaska Marine Lines pricing logistics analyst.

Kellogg and the Alaska Marine Lines team pulled together a quote within 24 hours and located a barge in Dutch Harbor that was already positioned for fish season. "They had about a week to round up a barge worth of cargo. They were bringing things in on sail day, but we got it loaded, lashed and on its way." Cargo consisted of 17 modular units for use as classrooms and teacher housing, machinery, building materials and rolling stock.

Lynden Air Cargo also supported the effort with nine flights, moving over 300,000 pounds of construction materials, furniture and supplies for the school rebuild. "The Stebbins runway is too small for us to operate directly into, so we flew everything to nearby St. Michael's, where the loads were then trucked to Stebbins," says Nick Niziolek, commercial operations manager.

The air and marine assistance was a mad dash, Kellogg says, with a short window of time to get cargo into the village to prepare for the 230 students starting school in August. "Although we could not divert our scheduled barge, the operations team came up with a solution to locate another barge and move quickly for this important project. They are the heroes of this story." The Alaska Marine Lines team of Don Reid, TJ Vires, Brian Ward, Trevor Stephens and Bubba Miller put together the voyage of eight days from Anchorage to Nome for offloading, followed by five landing craft trips from Nome to Stebbins. For more information visit www.lynden.com.