New trade routes for the Pacific Northwest: by sea, air, highway, and byway, the Pacific Nortwest is the gateway to world markets.

• Position: PACIFIC NORTHWEST SPECIAL SECTION

Alaska and the Pacific Northwest have a long history of exchanging goods and services by sea, air, and roadway, carrying everything from commodities such as oil and gas to seafood and household goods. It's a symbiotic relationship that is vital to our economic health and access to goods and services.

The Pacific Northwest, Transportation, and their Deep Ties to Alaska Trade

Alaska and the Pacific Northwest have long, deep ties through the transportation industry. Over the years, companies such as Lynden, the Saltchuk family of companies, and Vigor, all headquartered in the Pacific Northwest, have developed unique, specific expertise to meet the unconventional--sometimes unexpected--demands of importing and exporting goods and services throughout the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

Saltchuk's family of companies includes Northern Aviation Services, Carlile, TOTE, Foss, and North Star Petroleum, to name a few. Each of Saltchuk's businesses focuses on a specific sector of the transportation industry in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and other locations worldwide. To keep up with regional demand for a wide range of transportation services, Saltchuk is often involved with projects that pursue innovation and the ability to expand service areas and services provided. Earlier this year the company announced it is nearly finished constructing three Arctic Class tugs. The tugs are being built in Oregon but will spend their lives toting cargo through icy polar waters.

Also increasing access to new opportunities is shipbuilding and ship repair company Vigor, which this year is acquiring a new drydock from a Korean company to bolster its operations and create another avenue for commercial ships to make portage in Seattle. The 640-foot-long by 116-foot-wide dock will be the company's largest at its Harbor Island shipyard.

"The purchase of another drydock in Seattle allows Vigor to better service valued customers like Washington State Ferries, the US Coast Guard, and US Navy," Adam Beck, Vigor executive vice president of ship repair, said in a press release. "It also further strengthens our market position in commercial ship repair on the West Coast and supports our expansion into new markets." The company--which operates through nine locations in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska--expects the dock to be operational by late fall.

Vigor also acquired and absorbed Kvichak Marine to design and fabricate a variety of workboats and ships. Kvichak is known for its...