Alaska Marine Lines raises its Western and Arctic barge fuel surcharge to 16.5%

Alaska Marine Lines raised its fuel surcharge on barge freight to Western and Arctic Alaska on Oct. 19, to 16.5% from 11.5%, according to customer notices from the company.

The surcharge covers freight moving to, from and between Bethel, Dillingham, Naknek, Nome, Kotzebue, Utqiagvik, Kaktovik, Point Hope, Point Lay, Prudhoe Bay and Wainwright, along with the villages served through those ports. The carrier says it serves more than 65 villages in the region.

It's the highest rate in the history the company posts for the region, which goes back to December 2024. The surcharge was 7.5% then and 9% a year ago.

This year it has moved several times. It rose to 13.5% in April, with the company citing "continued escalation and volatility in fuel costs," then dropped to 11.5% at the end of June.

The latest notices don't give a reason. They say the company monitors fuel prices daily and adjusts the surcharge when necessary. The carrier describes the surcharge as a way to recover fuel-related costs and "position us competitively in the market."

The increase landed near the end of the carrier's season in the region, which runs April through October, before ice forms. Its last voyage to Western Alaska was scheduled to leave Seattle Sept. 4, according to its sailing schedule.

The carrier's surcharges for its other barge regions are higher: 31.5% for Hawaii, 31% for Dutch Harbor, the Aleutians and Kodiak, 29.5% for the Yukon, 29% for Central Alaska and Cordova and Valdez, and 22.5% for Southeast Alaska.