Lynden delivery boosts Arctic village’s economy

Processing plant modules loaded on a landing craft in Nome for the voyage to Savoonga.

When Lynden customer TBI Construction Co. asked for assistance to move eight modular food processing plants 3,722 miles from Finland to remote St. Lawrence island in the Bering Sea, it set in motion a unique Lynden multi-modal move. "This project was a great opportunity to support the entire supply chain," says Lynden COO Alex McKallor. "Our unique combination of equipment and capabilities allowed us to handle the transportation and logistics from the very beginning to the very end."

The real winners in the project are the residents of the village of Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island. A traditional Yupik community, Savoonga has a strong cultural foundation in fishing, hunting, and reindeer herding. The mods are being used to build a meat and fish processing facility that will allow the island to expand its meat product distribution, creating new economic opportunities for island residents.

The shipment began with the 16,000-pound modules trucked from the plant to the Port of Rauma, Finland. From there, they were loaded onto a feeder vessel bound for Bremerhaven, Germany, then transferred to the main roll-on, roll-off (RORO) vessel to the Port of Tacoma.

Alaska West Express trucks were at the dock in Tacoma ready to transport each mod to Alaska Marine Lines from Seattle to Nome, AK. In Nome, Alaska Marine Trucking handled shoreside operations, then Bering Marine Corporation took the final leg by delivering the mods via landing craft vessel to Savoonga on St. Lawrence island.

"We had to wait for breakup to transport the modules and fit them in with the regular cargo we take on our twice-yearly sailings to St. Lawrence Island," explains Rick Kellogg, Pricing Logistics Analyst at Alaska Marine Lines.

Customs guidance was also needed on the project, explains Matt Bykowski, Lynden Logistics Director of Compliance. "TBI needed customs clearances not only for the modular buildings built in Finland, but also for the separate internal fixtures and food processing equipment sourced from global suppliers," he says. "We provided preliminary guidance for importation of the processing equipment to ensure there would be no unnecessary government holds or clearance delays upon arrival at the first U.S. port."

Several months later, the "America First" trade agenda resulted in a host of new tariffs that had not been factored into the project or logistics plans. TBI Construction, again, relied on Lynden Logistics for interpretation and assessments of the new U.S. tariffs to ensure they were applied correctly to the project components, and for strategies to minimize the impact of the project’s total costs.

"I felt the Lynden family of companies was the best fit for the project from the start," says TBI Construction Owner Jason Bergman. "We’ve worked with AML for many years, and streamlining the communication – from bookings, tracking, invoicing, and customs clearances – was an incredible benefit for this logistically challenging project. Lynden gets the job done!"