CANADA’S COMMERCIAL MARINE MAGAZINE AUGUST 2019 WESTERNMARINER.COM 51T
he 2019 Arctic shipping season is well underway.
The Coast Guard’s sole West Coast icebreaker, sir
wilfriDlaurier (1986, Canadian Shipbuilding &
Engineering, Collingwood, Ontario), sailed from
Victoria in early July on her annual deployment
to the Western Arctic.
In the East, the sealift carriers NEAS and NSSI (Desgagnes
Transarctik) had departures from Valleyfield and Ste
Catherine in the last week of June and first week of July.
NEAS also had the most recent addition to its fleet, the
auJaQ (ex egmonDgracht, 1994, Merwede Shipyard B.V.,
Holland), scheduled to be the first ship to load at Churchill,
Manitoba this year on July 8 and 9. The ship will load about
30 vehicles and general cargo for a total of almost 2,000 cu-
bic metres, bound for Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake and other
Hudson Bay ports. Two other NEAS calls are scheduled.Renewal in Churchill
The reopening of Churchill’s railway, port and grain el-
evator is a major event. The Port of Churchill was cut off
when extensive flooding in May 2017 severely damaged the
Hudson Bay Railway line, leaving it closed until last October.
The railway and port are under new ownership by
Arctic Gateway Group. This group is comprised of Fairfax
Financial Holdings and AGT Foods holding 50 percent own-
ership, with the other 50 percent held by 29 First Nations
and a number of communities including Churchill.
Arctic Gateway chairman and AGT Food president
Murad Al-Katib noted that upgrading work has continued
along the railway since its reopening, with 100,000 ties re-
placed, “This will improve speed and reliability,” he said.
“We are also doing port repairs including work on the ele-
vator’s spouts and conveyor belting.”Western Ports and Terminals
Arctic Shipping Challenges
New ships and a reopened port usher in 2019 shipping season
By Fred McCague
Above: Fednav’s 220.8 m (725 ft) icebreaking bulk carrier arctic (1978, Port Weller Dry Docks, St. Catherines, Ontario) at
work in northern waters. The vessel carries nickel ore from Glencore’s Raglan mine at Deception Bay southbound, and
carries a variety of supplies on northbound voyages, including equipment, machinery, and dry and liquid consumables.
PHOTO COURTESY FEDNAV