HAY RIVER - The idea of moving thousands of litres of fuel to distant mines and communities by way of an airship is a mind-boggling possibility for Bassett Petroleum.

As a bulk petroleum supplier to communities as far North as Colville Lake, the Hay River-based firm is seriously considering an airship to make the trip, said Duncan McNeil, general manager with the company.

Dr. Barry Prentice, professor of supply chain management at the University of Alberta, stands in front of an artist's rendering of a modernized blimp being developed by 21st Century Airships. - David Ryan/NNSL photo

"We're very interested in having one of those," he said.

Airships - or hybrid air vehicles as they are often referred to as - are large blimps that could one day carry huge payloads over long distances without the need for landing strips or roads.

Using an airship could prove to be less expensive and more time efficient than trucking in fuel to communities in the Deh Cho and the Sahtu, said McNeil.

"We also wouldn't have to worry about the thickness of the ice roads either," he said.

Some of models that airship companies plan to produce will be too small for Northern economics, but Bassett Petroleum does think an airship with a payload of 200,000 kg could be efficient enough to work, he said.

"It could double what a 747 could carry," he said.

Braden Burry Expediting, a Northern logistics company, is also looking at airships as a viable means of transporting goods and exploration equipment, said vice-president of business development Stuart Russell.

"Someone's going to build one of these somewhere in the world," he said. "We think it should be for use in Northern Canada."

Airships could potentially be more environmentally friendly than other means of transportation and possibly cheaper than some existing transport modes, he said.

It's not just Northern-based companies that see the NWT as a region where airships could be flourish.

One company designing such vehicles is also taking a long hard look at the North.

World Skycat Ltd., a company based out of Oxford, England, was recently on a fact finding mission to Yellowknife, Feb. 13-14, said company chief executive officer Michael Stewart.

"We wanted to assess opportunities in the North," he said.

"Things do look pretty positive - it's a unique market."

The company has 11 different prototype vehicles planned, which have a maximum payload of 20 tonnes and 1,000 tonnes.

Its first staged commercial flight is planned for 2008 when the Sky-Cat 20 will make a six-month world tour, according to the firm's website.

Using these industrial-sized blimps in the North makes a lot of sense, said Dr. Barry Prentice, professor of supply chain management at the University of Alberta.

While fully functional airships may be almost a decade away, they have the ability to carry large payloads, are being built to withstand the cold and have a low environmental impact, he said.

"Airships could be a spark to initiate wide spread development," he said.

If these massive vehicles do find a place in the North, they will need a dry-dock for maintenance. Such hanger would create a number of jobs in the North, he said.

"Airships make sense in the North," he added.