Arness Terminal/osk dock, Rig Tenders Dock & port nikiski

In 1961, Jim Arness conceived the idea of building a saltwater terminal to support supply barges in order to allow the Kenai area to receive goods without having to truck them overland from Seward. Arness applied for a permit with the Department of the Army in April 1961, then undertook the design and construction himself. He leased waterfront land from the State of Alaska on Nikiski Bay. With a pickup truck, bulldozer, and help from Hayes Construction and local residents (including Richard McGahan, Dale McGahan, Jack McGahan, Norm McGahan, Alec Wik, Leo Wessenan, Jim Goff, Jerry Moore, Isam Hilleary, and Alfred Wik), Arness built a dock with 200 feet of frontage, extending 150 feet into Cook Inlet. In its earliest configuration, the dock was used to unload barges and a crane was present to move large items to the dock area. 

The dock opened in June 1961. A September 29, 1961 article in the Kenai Peninsula Cheechako News  states that Standard Oil was planning to dock a barge with five homes destined for the Swanson River Oilfield at the Arness Terminal that week. By 1967, the dock's configuration included of 14,000 yards of rock and gravel contained by 600 pilings and a mile of 1-1/4" diameter steel cable, as well as three Liberty Ships to provide pier space.

The three ships were the SS Edward A. Filene, Homer Winslow and Howell Cobb. These ships were towed north and positioned by the tug Patricia Foss. The first ship was moved into place in September 1964, and the others were brought in May and June 1966. These ships provided nearly 3,000 feet of pier length and were used for mooring crew boats, supply boats and others that shuttled between the eastern shore and the offshore drill rigs. The ships' superstructures were removed and doors were cut into the sides of two of the ships' hulls and ramps were installed at the start. A crane was lifted onto the northernmost ship. The dock was completed in 1966, and was reported to provide storage space for bulk and palletized cement, mud, drilling and other chemicals. According to the March 1967 edition of the Alaska Construction and Oil Report, the dock stored up to 2,000 tons of drilling mud and 1,800 tons of cement, which was brought in by barge from Seattle. The magazine stated that Arness planned to add breakwater for moorage and a dry dock.

"At the dock site is a large area for dry storage of miscellaneous cargo and a machine shop. The machine shop provides for overhaul and maintenance of equipment as well as for fabrication of drilling parts and equipment. A supply of fresh water for drinking and drilling is piped from a stream source to risers aboard ships."

Liberty ships are a class of transport vessel built in the US during WWII. The design was adapted for its simple, low-cost construction. These ships were mass-produced at an unprecedented rate; 18 US shipyards built 2,710 of them between 1941 and 1945. After the war, most of the surviving Liberty ships were sold and repurposed. Today only a handful survive.  The names of two ships, the SS Edward A. Filene (on the north side of the dock) and SS Howell Cobb (south side), were still visible at one time; the SS Harold L. Winslow is buried in gravel. 

Originally, two ships were positioned stern-to-stern on the northern side of the dock, but the rear ship was moved to the southern side of the dock at some point before the dock was brought into today's configuration. Apparently, additional fill and containment enlarged the dock to its current size in the intervening years. 

From Karen McGahan: “Richard McGahan ran the cat, working for Jim Arness, and pushed the first road to the beach for Arness Dock.” This road was eventually paved, and it is now the route to the Nikiski Middle-High School, as well as to the dock and heliport. 

Thanks to Jim Arness’ vision and determination, the completion of the dock coincided with escalation of drilling in Cook Inlet off the coast of Nikiski. His saltwater terminal became essential to the building and operating of the Swanson River Oilfield and, later, the offshore oil platforms, as the point from which their supplies and personnel were delivered. 

The dock's lease  for the dock and surrounding land has changed hands several times through the years. Jim Arness assigned the lease to Arness Terminal, Inc. in 1967. In 1972 the lease was assigned to Foss Tug & Launch, Inc. and then to Jesse S. Wade in 1977. Finally, in 1986, the lease was assigned to Offshore Systems - Kenai, and the terminal became known as the OSK Dock. 

In October 2019, heavy seas caused a 50-foot section along the northeast corner of the dock to collapse. The photo on the right was taken just after the repairs were made. Repairs can be seen in the upper right sea-facing front of the dock, next to the jack-up rig Randolph Yost, which was moored next to the dock from March 2016 to October 2021.  As of 2022, tidal action continues to undermine the OSK Dock; all potential pollutants have been moved and portions of the dock were closed by the Coast Guard. The structure may be failing and needed repairs will be extensive. The Cook Inlet platforms have begun using an alternate dock for the time being. After 60 years of service, the future of the OSK Dock is uncertain.