KETCHIKAN — Substantial repair work for Berth 3 at the port of Ketchikan was finished Tuesday afternoon — almost one week ahead of schedule — and the facility was able to receive cruise ships Wednesday.
The Celebrity Infinity was being docked just before 2 p.m. June 3, when it scraped along part of the berth, damaging breasting dolphins and catwalks and puncturing the ship's hull above the waterline.
Ketchikan City Manager Karl Amylo awarded a $928,580 repair contract June 7 to Anchorage-based Turnagain Marine Construction. The contract had a July 5 completion deadline.
Two of the three dolphin caps had to be removed and repaired. They were replaced this week, according to City of Ketchikan Port and Harbors Director Steve Corporon.
[Cruise ship that took out Ketchikan dock heads out of port]
There still is minor work to be done on Berth 3.
Three large, floating pneumatic fenders also will be replaced later this year, which is not in the contract with Turnagain.
The city will have to spend less money than it budgeted for design and inspection work due to inspectors having to be on-site almost a week less than anticipated, according to Corporon.
The cruise ship Radiance of the Seas docked at Berth 3 on Wednesday.
This story has been reprinted with permission from the original at the Ketchikan Daily News.