Barge to chill on Toker Point
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Monday, October 24, 2016
TUKTOYAKTUK
A fuel barge that ran aground north of Tuktoyaktuk on Sept. 2 will spend the winter where it sits on Toker Point, said Tuktoyaktuk mayor Darrel Nasogaluak.
Attempts to free the Fathom Marine barge were unsuccessful, so the vessel is now being prepared to spend the winter on the beach about 25 kilometres north of Tuktoyaktuk.
"They've abandoned the salvage operations because the ocean is freezing over. They're preparing for overwintering," Nasogaluak said. "If they had a couple days more they probably could have got it off the beach, it was that close. It's very unfortunate."
The barge was carrying about 50,000 litres of fuel when it hit a sandbar on Sept. 2. It then broke free and floated to where it now sits at Toker Point. The first recovery effort was unsuccessful and bad weather hampered a subsequent attempt.
Nasogaluak said community meetings will be held to determine the possible impact on the spring goose hunt.
"We're not sure how badly it's going to affect us, it's right in the area where community members hunt geese," he said. "It's a big concern and I'm sure there will be community meetings regarding it. The Hunters and Trappers Committee and the (Tuktoyaktuk) Community Corporation will discuss it."
Plans to remove fuel from the barge were originally scheduled to begin the week of Oct. 5, but were delayed. On Oct. 20, fuel was being removed from the barge and brought to Tuktoyaktuk via helicopter, Nasogaluak said.
The Canadian Coast Guard could look at establishing a maritime rescue sub-centre in the Arctic.
"As we move around the Arctic and talk to people, it could be something we look at," said Peter Garapick, search and rescue superintendent for the central and Arctic region.
"Could it be that there is a need for a marine rescue sub-centre in the Arctic? It's a possible question, something that we're open-minded to and we'll ask questions and evaluate the benefits of that."
There is only one such centre currently operating in Canada, according to the coast guard. Located in Quebec City, Que., the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Another centre had been located in St. John's, Nfld., but was shut down in 2012.
In addition to the sub-centre in Quebec, there are three Joint Rescue Coordination Centres in Canada, located in Victoria, B.C., Trenton, Ont. and Halifax, N.S.
Halifax provides service to parts of Baffin Island in Nunavut, but Trenton is responsible for the rest of the Arctic, as well as Ontario east to Quebec City and west to the borders of Alberta and British Columbia.
Establishing an Arctic centre is a topic that could be discussed as part of the federal government's plan to strengthen its search and rescue capabilities in the Arctic.
Last week, coast guard staff travelled to six Northwest Territories communities to assess their search and rescue capabilities, as well as to expand local coast guard auxiliaries - groups of community volunteers who help perform search and rescue operations.
In the NWT, Aklavik, Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk currently have auxiliary units, but Ulukhaktok could soon have one as well, Garapick said.
"We'll follow up with Ulukhaktok with the goal of establishing an auxiliary here, but we'll also get back to other communities about enhancing search and rescue, possibly without immediately creating a coast auxiliary unit," Garapick said.
For communities with existing units, such as Tuktoyaktuk, the meetings were an opportunity to discuss improvements.
"Our guys here are interested in getting a boat," said Darrel Nasogaluak, Tuktoyaktuk's mayor.
Tuktoyaktuk's auxiliary unit wants its own boat, instead of having to borrow one from the local RCMP.
Nasogaluak said the group is aiming to fundraise to cover costs, which the CCG indicated it would be willing to help with.
Group members also discussed the location of the radio tower that broadcasts the channel monitored by the CCG.
Nasogaluak said the tower is about 80 kilometres from Tuktoyaktuk and it's signal doesn't reach the community or the coast. Boaters travelling on the Mackenzie River can receive the signal and communicate with the coast guard, but Nasogaluak said not many people in Tuktoyaktuk use the river for travel.
Nasogaluak said relocating the tower closer to the community would drastically improve communications capabilities for boaters.
"You gotta have a specific frequency on your marine radio. Because we don't travel the river very much, the people in the community don't use that radio," he said. "But should they expand their radio coverage to include Tuk, I'm sure our people would adapt and purchase these radios."
Improving communications was a theme in all communities the coast guard visited, Garapick said.
"The biggest common issue was communications. Being able to call for help when you need help and also when you do a search and rescue response," he said.
