by Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Sep 03/97) - The remote communities of the Keewatin are about to become more accessible by sea.

The Canadian Hydrographic Service released the first of three hydrographic charts for the region last week in Rankin Inlet.

"This side of Hudson's Bay is quite a treacherous shoreline for navigation. There's a number of large shoals that extend quite a long way offshore," said Dennis St. Jacques, assistant director with CHS, Central and Arctic Region.

"It's essential. You have good hydrographic surveys in order for ships not only to come into these ports but to transit the coastline."

The next chart will be from Marble Island to the separation shoals to be produced sometime this fall.

"The last chart approaches the offshore east of Marble Island and that's going to be next year's. The reason for that is that we're doing some additional work under a new memorandum of understanding with the Department of Transport for coastal corridors from Chesterfield down to Whale Cove and Arviat."

CHS has done a number of similar charting projects for the GNWT.

They've done work around Pelly Bay and up in the Coronation Gulf area working with the GNWT, DIAND and a mining company to make sure there's a shipping corridor into Coppermine area for the shipment of ore of the area.

This most recent project in the Keewatin is worth $5 million and is cost-shared by the GNWT and the federal government.

"We're in the process of signing another one for this year and next year," said St. Jacques.

The charts that are being done are much more accurate and detailed than older charts.

"We have been using new technology called a multi-beam Swath system and this technology allows us to ensonify the whole bottom so we get complete bottom coverage."

Looking at the new chart, St. Jacques said he has complete confidence there's nothing shallower than what's showing on the chart.

Detailed charts allow more options for ships coming in the region to service or simply visit.

Charts in the series will be available electronically to be used in the ship's computer.

"It allows you to set up safety zones, it gives you warnings when you're approaching those safety zones and it makes the plotting of your positioning a lot easier because it's interfaced to electronic positioning systems and that gives you an instant plot of your position."

The survey equipment used to develop each chart is based on the ship CCG Hudson, out of Bedford, N.S.

"We have five survey launches carried on board and those survey launches are deployed daily and they go out and survey the specific area and return to the ship. Then we take them on board. It's just a safety measure," said St. Jacques.

The main purpose of the charting project, initiated in 1993 by John Todd, who was transportation minister at the time, and managed by Paul Davies of CHS was to ensure that tankers could get into the Melville Bay site to resupply communities cheaply and easily as the Port of Churchill's future became uncertain.