KETCHIKAN — A “business divorce” is being sought by one of two partners in the Ward Cove Dock Group that operates The Mill at Ward Cove cruise ship dock and visitor welcome center.
Ketchikan-based Power Systems and Supplies of Alaska LLC filed the complaint against Fairbanks-based Godspeed Inc. and its vice president, John Binkley, on March 6 in Anchorage Superior Court.
PSSA and Godspeed are 50-50 co-owners of the Ward Cove Dock Group, which in 2020 built the cruise ship dock at Ward Cove and refurbished part of the former Ketchikan Pulp Co. mill as a welcoming center for visiting cruise passengers.
The PSSA lawsuit alleges that Godspeed has breached the terms of the partners’ operating agreement for the Ward Cove Dock Group by “usurping complete management of WCDG by unilaterally naming John Binkley (as) the Chief Executive Officer of the company and by operating the company without the knowledge, input and authorization (of) PSSA.”
PSSA is requesting that the court either dissolve the Ward Cove Dock Group and liquidate its assets, or require the sale of “all or part of WCDG on terms that this Court finds fair and equitable,” according to the filing.
It also requests the court to appoint a receiver or neutral manager; remove Binkley as CEO; prohibit Godspeed from making management decisions without PSSA authorization; and require an accounting of all payments benefitting Godspeed, any related entities or Binkley family members.
As of Friday, neither Godspeed nor Binkley had filed a response with the court.
Neither John Binkley nor Godspeed President Ryan Binkley replied to Ketchikan Daily News phone and email inquiries as of press time Friday. (Ryan Binkley is the president and publisher of the Anchorage Daily News.)
Godspeed and John Binkley are represented by the Anchorage-based law firm of Ashburn & Mason P.C.
One of the Ashburn & Mason attorneys now involved with the case, Laura (Dulic) Fisher, replied to a Ketchikan Daily News email inquiry on Wednesday. Fisher noted that the inquiry was appreciated, but “(we) cannot comment on pending litigation at this time.”
Since starting operations in 2021, The Mill at Ward Cove cruise ship dock and visitor welcome center that are owned and operated by the Ward Cove Dock Group have accommodated a growing number of ships and cruise visitors.
Based on a 2026 schedule posted on The Mill at Ward Cove website, eight cruise lines are expected to bring more than 400,000 passengers to the cruise dock in Ward Cove during the upcoming 2026 cruise season.
The PSSA lawsuit does not mention potential effects on cruise ship operations at the facility.
PSSA Founder and Board Chairman Dave Spokely, in an email reply to a Ketchikan Daily News inquiry about potential effects, commented that: “PSSA is hopeful that the 2026 cruise ship operations will not be impacted.”
A written statement issued by PSSA early last week stated that: “Ultimately, PSSA seeks the appointment of a receiver who can oversee the sale of Ward Cove as a going-concern to best preserve this asset for the community. We hope that this dispute is quickly resolved.”
Norwegian Cruise Lines, which participated financially in the Ward Cove dock’s construction and has four ships scheduled to visit The Mill at Ward Cove regularly, declined comment.
Contacted by the Ketchikan Daily News by email on Wednesday, a Norwegian Cruise Lines public relations staff member replied simply: “Apologies, but we don’t comment on ongoing litigation.”
As part of its filings, PSSA asked the court for a temporary restraining order and for expedited consideration of its motion for a temporary restraining order. Both motions were denied Thursday by Anchorage Superior Court Judge Yvonne Lamoureux, according to court documents.
Origins of the partnership
Back when the Ward Cove Dock Group was formed in 2019, Power Systems and Supplies of Alaska was owned 50-50 by Dave Spokely and Andrew Spokely of Ketchikan.
In 2022, ownership of PSSA was transferred to the similarly named Ward Cove Group LLC, which is owned by a trio of family trusts. According to a Feb. 16 corporate filing, Dave Spokely, Andrew Spokely, Kyle Quinn and Stephen Bradford are the current managers of Ward Cove Group LLC.
PSSA itself has been associated with the former Ketchikan Pulp Mill site since 2011. That’s when the Spokely-owned entity bought 360 acres of the site from the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. According to the lawsuit, the overall acreage includes about 120 acres of submerged tidelands in Ward Cove and approximately 240 acres of land.
The lawsuit describes Dave Spokely as having an interest in building a cruise ship dock in Ward Cove. He approached John Binkley, knowing that Binkley “had certain contacts in the cruise ship industry.”
Binkley has long been involved in Alaska’s visitor industry, first via the Riverboat Discovery tour company in Fairbanks. He founded the Alaska Cruise Association in 2007 and later served as president of the Cruise Lines International Association-Alaska from 2016 until stepping down in October of 2019. He’s also served in the Alaska Legislature, and was a candidate for governor in 2005.
In 2019, “PSSA (Spokely) and Godspeed (Binkley) partnered together to construct and build a welcome center in Ward Cove,” according to the lawsuit. “To accomplish this purpose, PSSA and Godspeed formed (Ward Cove Dock Group).”
The Articles of Organization for the new WCDG LLC were filed in June of 2019, according to Alaska Department of Commerce records.
On July 1, 2019, PSSA leased specific tidelands and uplands to Ward Cove Dock Group, according to the lawsuit. Spokely and Binkley also negotiated agreements with Norwegian Cruise Lines for financial backing to build the dock and welcome center.
Although the dock and related upland renovations were “substantially complete” by June of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic that had started earlier that year resulted in the cancellation of the entire 2020 Alaska cruise ship season. The first ships began using the Ward Cove dock in August of 2021, according to the lawsuit.
Origins of the PSSA’s dispute
According to the lawsuit, an operating agreement requires PSSA and Godspeed to “jointly manage” the Ward Cove Dock Group through a board of directors that serves as manager of the WCDG.
The WCDG board comprises four directors, two of whom are appointed by PSSA and two of whom are appointed by Godspeed.
“All decisions require unanimous approval of PSSA and Godspeed acting through their appointed directors on the board,” according to the PSSA lawsuit. Dave Spokely has “always” been one of PSSA’s two directors on the WCDG board.
PSSA alleges in the lawsuit that, after Spokely “began having serious life-threatening health issues” in 2020, Binkley and Godspeed “took advantage” of those health issues by “unilaterally taking control of WCDG and unilaterally representing John Binkley as ‘Chief Executive Officer’” to third parties beginning as early as 2020.
“Neither Binkley nor Godspeed called a Board meeting to vote on the appointment of Binkley as CEO, and no formal Board action was ever taken naming him as an officer of the company,” states the filing. “Simultaneously, Binkley and Godspeed started managing WCDG without the involvement of PSSA.”
The lawsuit alleges several instances of unilateral action taken without involvement by or the knowledge of PSSA. This includes no distribution of profits or tax distributions required by the operating agreement.
“Effectively, Godspeed is using PSSA assets to own and unilaterally run a company to Godspeed’s benefit that pays no dividends or provides any benefits to PSSA,” alleges the lawsuit.
It adds that after Spokely’s health began to improve in 2024, he became more involved in PSSA in 2025. PSSA began “pressing more forcefully to hold Board meetings and obtain necessary Board authority for all management decisions.”
Two WCDG board meetings were held in 2025. However, the lawsuit alleges that “Godspeed still unilaterally made all decisions for WCDG — without informing PSSA of certain decisions until after the fact, and others, not at all.”
PSSA’s lawsuit also asserts that Binkley has “refused to recognize” a May 2025 board vote that PSSA believes removed him as CEO.
The 19-page lawsuit touches on other topics, such as PSSA’s sale in November 2024 of its land holdings in Ward Cove to Alaska Port Innovations LLC, which the filing states is “owned and managed by a number of PSSA employees, but neither PSSA nor its parent entities have an ownership interest in API and none of the API owners are owners of PSSA or beneficiaries of the three trusts who ultimately own PSSA’s parent company.”
Remedies sought
Citing the stated allegations and the board impasse that is making it “impossible for WCDG to carry on the purpose of the company,” the lawsuit states that the only remedy is one provided for by state statute.
Under that statute, the court is able to either dissolve the company and liquidate the assets; order the sale of the company as a “going concern”; or to have one of the LLC members buy out the other member “at a price to be determined by the Court to be fair and equitable.”
“PSSA prefers that this court order the sale of WCDG as a going concern, but at a minimum PSSA is entitled to the dissolution and liquidation of WCDG if a less drastic remedy is not available,” states the lawsuit.
There are other allegations of breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and breach of fiduciary duty.
The lawsuit also notes that if the court decides on a remedy under state statute, a receiver (a neutral, court-appointed third party that takes control of a business) should be appointed “immediately to evaluate options and value the company and its assets.”
If PSSA isn’t entitled to statutory relief, its lawsuit states that a neutral manager that’s not aligned with either member “must be appointed.”
PSSA is represented by the Anchorage-based law firm of Cashion Gilmore & Lindemuth, with former Alaska Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth signing the lawsuit.
As of midday Monday, no court hearings on the lawsuit had been scheduled, according to the state CourtView system.
Partner in Ketchikan cruise ship dock effort files suit alleging breach of contract
