Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 25/01) - The Coast Guard ship CCGS Nahidik will head north July 30 on a three-week mission to study the ice and sea bed of the Beaufort Sea, a move that would make way for the "over-the-top" route of the proposed natural gas pipeline.

The Mackenzie route would take Alaskan gas south via an undersea pipeline from that Alaska's Prudhoe Bay to the Mackenzie Delta. That pipeline would then head south along the Mackenzie River, picking up Canadian gas along the way.

Analysts say the route would be shorter and cheaper than its main rival, a route along the Alaska Highway.

Nahidik's trip brings a welcome sign of federal government support for the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, said Northwest Territories Premier Stephen Kakfwi.

The Nahidik will move between Herschel Island near the Alaska-NWT border and Tuktoyaktuk. Canadian scientists are beginning environmental studies for the Mackenzie Delta pipeline.