Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 22/02) - Sealift fever has begun in Nunavut.

Iqaluit resident Jeremy Hamburg takes advantage of the sealift's cheaper prices every year.

He's now driving around in a recent arrival -- a new pickup -- and expects home renovations supplies and non-perishable food later in the season.

Including the vehicle, Hamburg spent about $16,000 this year on sealift items.

"I look forward to the new stuff," he said. "And dread paying the bills."

N3 Alliance currently has the Government of Nunavut's sealift contract -- the first of its vessels arrived in the Baffin on July 7.

Kirk Vander Ploeg, manager of N3 Alliance, said he has noticed more grocery orders this year.

He said people move to communities from other places not knowing what to expect -- so they order food from the south.

He can't say exactly what foods people are craving.

"Everything is crated so I don't get to see whether people are buying ketchup or not," he said.

Cars in demand

But he does see a continuing demand for cars.

N3 Alliance makes five voyages from the Port of St. Catherine in Montreal to Baffin Island.

The vessels all go to Iqaluit and make stops at various communities. But not every community gets five trips.

Each voyage to the Baffin brings at least 20 to 25 vehicles, he said.

"I'm surprised there's still so many vehicles coming into communities," he said. Again, Vander Ploeg attributed this to the ever-changing population. People sell a car in a community when they move, and may buy another one in the next place, he said.

The demand for cars is highest in the Baffin. Next is the Kitikmeot and then the Kivalliq, he said.

"It has a bit to do with the layout of communities. It's not as easy to walk around Iqaluit as it is in Pond Inlet.

The need for construction materials is still strong but has "levelled out" because most of the government's large infrastructure -- such as the legislative assembly -- is complete.

"Housing is still an issue," he said.

Northern Transportation Company Limited -- one of three companies encompassed under the N3 Alliance umbrella -- services the Kivalliq from the Port of Churchill and the Kitikmeot from Hay River.

Eleven trips a year

The Kivalliq region gets a total of 11 trips -- each Kivalliq community is serviced twice on average.

Kitikmeot communities also receive service about twice.

Robert Lanteigne, marine communications traffic services officer with the Coast Guard in Iqaluit, said he couldn't provide the total number of vessels to arrive in Nunavut.

But he said five tankers and 12 cargo ships will arrive in Iqaluit throughout the season.

The peak season starts now and winds down in mid-September. The very last vessels usually arrive in late October, he said.