Unalaska to Fight P/V Stimson Relocation

Annie Ropeik/KUCB
Unalaska’s lobbyists will be gearing up for a fight to keep the State Trooper patrol vessel Stimson homeported there.
At last week’s city council meeting, Unalaska City Manager Chris Hladick said the state wants to relocate the Stimson to Kodiak. He said it would save the state about half a million dollars as part of governor’s proposed budget for next year.
But Hladick said it would be bad news for the Aleutians. As a result, he said the city’s legislators will be hearing from them.
He said not having an enforcement vessel in Unalaska ”doesn’t sound like a really good idea whatsoever.” He added that Kodiak is a two-and-a-half day steam from Unalaska in the best of conditions.
The Stimson currently patrols the Bering Sea fisheries and Western Alaska along with the P/V Woldstad, which is stationed in Kodiak.