ANCHORAGE — Grocery stores in Alaska are running low on some foods after a cargo ship was delayed by a mechanical issue.
Tote Maritime Alaska’s North Star, which regularly ships groceries and other goods between Tacoma and Anchorage, was supposed to leave Jan. 14 and arrive on Jan. 17. A problem was discovered shortly before its departure.
Tote Maritime Vice President Grace Greene couldn’t say specifically what the mechanical issue was, but said the North Star is expected to be fixed by early next week.
Groceries were moved to the company’s other ship, the Midnight Sun, and are expected to arrive soon.
“There’s not going to be a grocery shortage,” Greene said. “Anytime we have a disruption in our service, we work to make sure the priority freight is handled right away.”
Roughly 85 percent of all goods that arrive in Alaska come through the port of Anchorage, which receives four major cargo shipments a week.
“If there’s something — you eat it, wear it or use it — it comes here on the ship,” Greene said. “So sometimes during delays like this, you can see some issues with getting enough products on the shelves.”
Many of the refrigerator and freezer shelves in Anchorage’s Natural Pantry grocery store sat empty for a couple of days because of the North Star delay, manager Jared Solberg told the Alaska Dispatch News. The store is still missing many dry goods, like boxed and canned food.
“It did affect us,” Solberg said. “Our chill and freeze items, we just got in today (Tuesday). We normally get them on Sunday night.”
Emergency officials say the North Star’s delay is a reminder of what Alaska could face if the port were cut-off in an emergency or natural disaster.
“If all routes of supply were cut off, we would have five to seven days’ worth of supplies within the state,” Jeremy Zidek of State Division of Emergency Management told KTVA-TV.
Zidek said there are other ways they could bring supplies into the state, but those take time. He said it’s important for everyone to have a degree of self-sufficiency.
The Division of Emergency Management recommends that Alaska residents have a five to seven day supply of food on hand.
