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IQALUIT
A mooring buoy in Iqaluit's Frobisher Bay that killed a conservation officer last year when the boat he was riding in struck it, has finally been located.

Seeglook Akeeagok, a conservation officer from Grise Fiord, was riding in an eight-metre aluminium boat with Paul Kaludjak and Kaludjak's son Daniel, last fall when the boat struck the 1.5-metre wide by three-metre high buoy. - NNSL file photo

"The coast guard located the missing buoy this past Sunday (July 24)," said Carol Launderville, a communications officer with the Canadian Coast Guard. "It's sunken."

Launderville added in an e-mail the coast guard was assisted by the Canadian Hydrographic Service in locating the buoy at Koojesse Inlet.

Seeglook Akeeagok, a conservation officer from Grise Fiord, was riding in an eight-metre aluminium boat with Paul Kaludjak and Kaludjak's son Daniel, last fall when the boat struck the 1.5-metre wide by three-metre high buoy. Akeeagok was killed. Paul and Daniel Kaludjak survived but were injured from the impact.

Launderville said the coast guard has informed mariners in the area about the sunken buoy, which is not located in an area where boats anchor.

The coast guard's CCGS Terry Fox vessel also located a second buoy targeted for removal east of Innuit Head. The buoy was permanently removed and again a notice to mariners was issued on July 11 on the buoy's status.

The coast guard was unable to remove a third buoy located at the front of Long Island inner harbour, said Launderville. The water was too shallow for the coast guard to get close enough to retrieve it. Launderville said the coast guard is considering alternative plans to deal with the remaining exposed buoy; however, in the meantime, the buoy has been painted bright orange and had reflective tape placed on it in order to warn boaters of its presence.

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