Alaska ferry service to pay for armed Mounties at B.C. terminal

Alaska will pay armed Canadian police to provide protection to U.S. personnel at a ferry terminal in British Columbia, state transportation officials said.

The Alaska Marine Highway System was notified in March that unarmed U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents checking ferries leaving Prince Rupert, B.C., will require assistance from RCMP, CoastAlaska reported Friday.

Without armed police at inspections, the port faces closure, officials said.

The Canadian officers will be contracted through the ferry service, which is facing budget cuts by Alaska's state legislature.

Federal officials mandating the change "never offered" to help the state fund the contract, but Alaska officials consider it the cost of doing business, said ferry system general manager John Falvey.

"I don't think it's going to be a large sum of money," Falvey said.

Alaska officials have an Oct. 1 deadline to finalize a plan, he said.

Passengers and vehicles boarding Alaska ferries in Prince Rupert, which is situated around 50 kilometres south of the border with the Alaska panhandle, are routinely checked by U.S. agents. The "pre-clearance" system allows passengers to disembark without presenting paperwork again, officials said.

U.S. personnel cannot carry firearms while doing passport and contraband checks in Prince Rupert, said Jerry McGee, customs service assistant area port director in Anchorage.

"It's a sovereign nation and we don't have that authority," McGee said.

Passengers are allowed to carry hunting rifles and shotguns, which are legal in both countries.

"Therefore, theoretically our staff would be the only ones that are not armed," McGee said.

An agreement allowing U.S. agents to carry firearms in Prince Rupert is several years away, officials said.