Yesterday, the port commission voted 4-to-1 to waive its rights to block the sale of Dry Dock 4, the largest of three boat repair facilities at the shipyard and at nearly 1,000-feet long the largest floating dry dock in the Western hemisphere. The resolution prevents creditors from foreclosing and selling the dock or the entire shipyard at a reduced price. Three of the commission's nine members were absent and another abstained because of a conflict of interest.

The Port owned the shipyard from 1953 until last year, when it sold it to Cascade, which had operated the shipyard as its general contractor since 1996. The Port sold $84 million in bonds in 1976 to upgrade the shipyard and build the dry dock. The cash from the sale of the shipyard to Cascade General for $31 million paid off the remaining bonded debt, though Cascade still owes the Port more than $8 million plus interest as part of a deferred payment plan.

Although the sale agreement between Cascade and the Port obligates Cascade to operate a dry dock and shipyard at the port, it gives them an out in the event Cascade is about to default on loans. With its financial partner, Cammell Laird Holdings of Liverpool, now in receivership, that now appears to be the case.

Cascade's main lender for the shipyard acquisition, Transamerica Equipment Financial Services, is the one forcing the sale of shipyard assets. Transamerica is said to be reacting to news of Cammell Laird's troubles as well as news that petroleum shipper Alaska Tanker Co. recently canceled its $40-million-a-year contract with Cascade.

Port officials are spinning the bad news as being good for the Port and Cascade if it helps the company stabilize and remain a major employer in town. At peak periods, the shipyard has employed more than 1,200 people for months at a time. As a result of the current financial problems, current employment of about 1,000 likely will be reduced to 500 or fewer for the time being.

A 1997 appraisal by the Port estimates the dry dock's worth at between $11 million and $15 million. It's real value on the market, however, is largely unknown due to a limited number of potential buyers for the facility and few recent sales.