Construction well underway on first of the “Super Alia” or “Alia Tele”

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Construction of the first of the four “Super Alia” or “Alia Tele” is well underway at Armstrong Consolidated Inc. (ACI) the boat building facility in Washington state, with the first vessel expecting delivery next year and will be used as a training platform to develop a workforce interested in these fishing vessels.

ASG’s Commerce Department (DOC), which oversees this project, announced the new development of this federally funded project on its Facebook page, saying that the “fabrication of our first SUPER ALIA is well under way.”

“This first commercial fishing vessel will be utilized as a training platform and key to supporting workforce development in the fishing industry,” said DOC. “The first of four super alias is expected to be delivered by mid-year, 2023.”

The Facebook posting also included a 29-second video, which show the team at ACI standing up the frames of the first super alia's hull.

Responding to Samoa News follow-up questions, DOC project manager Tony Langkilde, explained that, cutting of the metal started two to three months ago and the fabrication started two to three weeks ago.

The US Economic Development Administration (EDA) in 2020 awarded $4.4 million for the Super Alia project, which the previous Administration had touted as the “future commercial fishing vessel” that can go further out at sea and stay out longer fishing than the current traditional alias.

As previously reported by Samoa News, the Procurement Office awarded on Nov. 24, 2021, the contract to build four “Super Alia” fishing vessels to ACI. And the first of the four vessels, estimated to be completed in January or February of 2023. (See Samoa News edition June 30 for details.)

Last week, the boat builder provided Langkilde with an update on the construction progress as well as photos of the first Super Alia being constructed.

The latest DOC information-summary on the “Alia Tele/ Super Alia” local fishing fleet Development Initiative provided to Samoa News this week calls the project: “Smart Technology” or “Local Fishing Transformation”.

It says that the arrival of the first, of the four, 40-foot long ‘super’ alias will be in the territory in January or February 2023. This first commercial fishing vessel — a catamaran — “will be dedicated strictly as a training platform to develop a workforce of people who are interested in working on these fishing vessels and thus becoming our own local American Samoa fishers,” it says.

According to DOC, the “economic development idea is to build new jobs and to take advantage of our fresh ocean resources. As a result, there will be a constant supply of local fresh bottomfish and tuna, masimasi, wahoo and other species of fish for our local consumers and to supply businesses such as restaurants, hotels, packaging etc, and also, with a great possibility in opening up again an export market of high quality fish to the State of Hawaii and to the mainland U.S.”

Furthermore, an incubation program will also begin as part of training and education as well as creating new small businesses, according to the DOC information sheet.

The “American Samoa Motu Ripoti ” — or Island Report prepared by staff of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council for the Council’s meeting earlier this year, gave an update on the Super Alia project.

According to the report, based on information from DOC, the project management is now working on compiling the incubation program or training and education syllabus for the establishment of the second pillar of this economic fisheries development initiative.

“This concept would keep the sustainability of the local fisheries going,” it says.