Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Shortages in local stores are not an indication of disruption in the supply chain. Alaska Marine Lines’ parent company Lynden and partner company Western Towboat said they expect to run barges to Haines on schedule for the foreseeable future.

“Haines is expected to continue getting regular weekly barge service,” Lynden director of marketing and media Ryan Dixon said.

“We have absolutely not had delays in shipments. We’re one hundred percent on schedule,” said Russell Shrewsbury, vice president of Western Towboat, the company whose tugboats pull Alaska Marine Lines barges to Haines and many other communities throughout Southeast. “The only factor impacting the availability of items is that people are buying things up before we can get in to resupply.”

In a statement released March 20, the Haines Borough said, “In the next week or two there will be a perception that groceries supplies are low. We have assurances that this situation is temporary. Because of several days of ‘panic buying’ here and in the Lower 48, suppliers are backed-up with requests and were not able to fill all orders from every store.”

Media outlets have confirmed that while there is a temporary shortage of many items in grocery stores throughout the nation, it is the result of a temporary spike in demand which should settle out as people stock up. 

CNN reported that so far, food growers have not reported changes in their ability to produce, and retailers have the ability to absorb a level of disruption in food production. Retailers regularly make up for disruptions like low crop yields by switching suppliers or turning to other products. A long-term shortage in labor due to illness could threaten food supply, but for now the system is working.

Shrewsbury said barges have been leaving Washington with a normal load for this time of year. He said he expects the loads on barges will increase if demand for items remains high.

The main concern for companies like Lynden and Western Towboat is keeping personnel healthy. 

“Our customers are asking, ‘Will we be able to meet their shipping requirement?’ Our answer is yes, if our people can work,” Lynden president and CEO Jon Burdick said in a written statement. 

Shrewsbury said his company is working to mitigate the spread of illness among employees, taking temperatures before employees board vessels and asking people to stay home if sick. He said policies about staying home when sick have long been a part of company operations because of the close, confined quarters on tugboats. “Most people in our industry know if you show up sick, you get everyone else sick.”

Lynden released a “pandemic plan” describing its ability to move employees within the company, rehire seasonal workers and contract with third parties should staffing shortages arise as a result of illness. The plan identifies local drivers as the employees that run the highest risk of illness because of “frequent contact with customers and fellow employees at the service centers.” If unable to achieve adequate staffing levels in local communities, Lynden said it could give customers the options of self-service pickup.

“People who are questionable, we tell them to stay home, but so far we haven’t had a dip (in staffing),” Shrewsbury said. 

“Marine transportation is part of crucial infrastructure, so we would continue to operate even if there was a nationwide shelter-in-place order,” Shrewsbury said. He said the biggest concern for his company at present is the impact the virus will have on the upcoming fishing season in Alaska. Transporting fish products represents a good chunk of his company’s business.

The Haines Borough has requested that residents continue to shop “normally and not horde products” out of consideration for others in the community, especially those on fixed incomes.