Refueling Iqaluit under the Northern Lights
The tanker Kitikmeot seen here, delivers the last fuel resupply for Iqaluit until July of 2023 on December 1st, 2022.
All of Nunavut’s communities, including inland Baker Lake, rely on marine access for vital supplies, including annual sealifts bringing non-perishable foods, heavy goods, as well as fuel for power and heating. Safe access to waterways is also critical for local fisheries. However, Nunavut has only one
official harbour for all of its communities, and as of 2020, no public ports. In comparison, 95 port facilities in the rest of Canada are operated by Transport Canada, and 1,010 harbours recognized by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The absence of harbours means communities are restricted to using crowded sealift staging areas to access waterways or small government wharfs. There is also a lack of sheltered areas for community and fishing vessels.
The absence of port infrastructure also hampers annual resupply sealifts for communities, as large vessels cannot dock directly at communities and must rely on barges to transport materials to shore, or in some cases, long hoses from ships to resupply communities with fuel. Sea ice can hamper and delay unloading from barges.
In Iqaluit, until the deep-water port currently under construction opens, resupply activities can occur only at high tide, adding time and expense when unloading large vessels.
Port infrastructure is also vital to the tourism industry. A shortage of marine infrastructure limits Nunavut’s ability to benefit from increased cruise ship traffic in Arctic waters, as vessels may choose not to disembark passengers where
local infrastructure is unable to facilitate the safe transfer of passengers to land.
Refueling Iqaluit under the Northern Lights
The tanker Kitikmeot seen here, delivers the last fuel resupply for Iqaluit until July of 2023 on December 1st, 2022.
All of Nunavut’s communities, including inland Baker Lake, rely on marine access for vital supplies, including annual sealifts bringing non-perishable foods, heavy goods, as well as fuel for power and heating. Safe access to waterways is also critical for local fisheries. However, Nunavut has only one
official harbour for all of its communities, and as of 2020, no public ports. In comparison, 95 port facilities in the rest of Canada are operated by Transport Canada, and 1,010 harbours recognized by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The absence of harbours means communities are restricted to using crowded sealift staging areas to access waterways or small government wharfs. There is also a lack of sheltered areas for community and fishing vessels.
The absence of port infrastructure also hampers annual resupply sealifts for communities, as large vessels cannot dock directly at communities and must rely on barges to transport materials to shore, or in some cases, long hoses from ships to resupply communities with fuel. Sea ice can hamper and delay unloading from barges.
In Iqaluit, until the deep-water port currently under construction opens, resupply activities can occur only at high tide, adding time and expense when unloading large vessels.
Port infrastructure is also vital to the tourism industry. A shortage of marine infrastructure limits Nunavut’s ability to benefit from increased cruise ship traffic in Arctic waters, as vessels may choose not to disembark passengers where
local infrastructure is unable to facilitate the safe transfer of passengers to land.