Alaska Steamship Company, the only water shipping line servicing Haines-Port Chilkoot on a regular schedule, has announced it will terminate its monthly freighter following the arrival of a ship this week. 

The company had requested a rate increase of 15% which had been denied by the U.S. Maritimes Commission. 

According to Thomas Quinlan, Haines agent for the company, the company had been operating at a loss for the past year, more in Southeast than elsewhere. 

A federal injunction staying the company from putting its rate increase into effect calls for a hearing in June, Quinlan said. Since the company feels that the results of such a hearing may take as much as four months to be determined, and the company might not be able to operate during the lucrative summer months even if the hearing examiner did accept the company’s position, the company decided to eliminate much of its Southeastern operation. 

Quinlan said that the company had invited the state to audit their books to satisfy itself that the loss was a true one, but the state never took advantage of the offer. 

Alaska Steamship is exploring every possibility of getting freight into Haines, Quinlan reported. This might include some sort of barge service from Juneau to Haines.