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IQALUIT - The buoy that killed a well-known conservation officer after his boat collided with it last November has been removed, but there is still an unmarked buoy in the shipping channel that concerns local boaters.

With boating season underway, many are wondering if all the buoys in the harbour have been marked, especially since an accident last November which killed Seeglook Akeeagok. The boat he was riding in hit an unmarked buoy. - Emily Ridlington/NNSL photo

“There's an unmarked mooring buoy in the middle of a marked shipping channel with no lights, no marks on it, no nothing,” said Glenn Williams, an Iqaluit resident.

Williams was also the friend of the late Seeglook Akeeagok, a 55-year-old conversation officer from Grise Fiord. Akeeagok was riding in an eight-metre aluminum boat with former Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. President Paul Kaludjak and Paul's son Daniel on Nov. 5, 2010.

It was getting dark when their boat collided with the buoy, with the impact killing Akeeagok. Paul and Daniel both sustained injuries.

At the time, the RCMP said the buoy did not have a light on it.

According to Transport Canada, any federally-regulated buoys are the responsibility of the Canadian Coast Guard. Transport Canada, under its Navigable Waters Protection Program, handles the administration and enforcement of private buoy regulations.

Mooring buoys, according to the regulations, must have a yellow light and yellow retro-reflective material.

After the accident, Williams raised concern about the buoy involved and he said it has been removed.

“In the fall time when I walked out on the ice, looking for seal holes, it wasn't there,” he said, adding he is not sure where it went.

The Canadian Coast Guard said there are two remaining mooring buoys in the harbour – one at the southwest of the manifold and one commercial buoy in front of Long Island in the inner harbour. They said they are consulting with shipping companies and the Government of Nunavut to see if these can be removed.

Williams said these buoys, when initially placed, were used for tankers, but are now no longer used.

Transport Canada said following the accident the department took it upon itself to figure out who owns the remaining buoys in the harbour.

To address safety concerns, a representative said four out of five remaining buoys in the harbour were marked with reflective tape. Williams said he can only think of three.

“The mooring buoy involved in the incident has not been located,” said an e-mail from the department.

A feasibility study is also underway to see if the buoys can be removed, but a timeline has not been set for its completion.

“They're not doing enough,” said David Alexander, vice-chairman of the Amarok Hunter and Trappers Association.

He said if the buoys are staying in the harbour they need to be marked with a beacon light so boaters can make it back safely when it gets dark.

“They just don't want to deal with it,” Alexander said.

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