Nunavut government tells Nunavut-owned fishery to refuel in Greenland

The Arctic Fishery Alliance’s Kiviuq I outside of Grise Fiord last month. (PHOTO COURTESY OF AFA)

The mayor of Arctic Bay says he’s frustrated and disappointed with a Government of Nunavut decision not to provide fuel to an Arctic Fishery Alliance vessel this past month.

The Arctic Fishery Alliance is owned by community trusts as well as hunters and the trappers organizations in Grise Fiord, Arctic Bay, Resolute Bay and Qikiqtarjuaq.

One of its two fishing vessels, Kiviuq I, was recently scheduled to arrive in Arctic Bay following a two-week exploratory fishing project around Jones Sound and Grise Fiord.

The AFA said its plan was to have the Kiviuq I fueled in Arctic Bay or at Nanisivik before taking local hunters to Devon Island to harvest muskox and retrieve research equipment that would then be transported to Resolute Bay.

But instead, the AFA said the vessel has to take an extra six days to go to Greenland to refuel.

“It is impossible to understand why our vessel, that we are part owners of, could not get fuel either from our tanks or directly from the tanker that was in the area,” said Arctic Bay mayor Phillip Kalluk in an Oct. 3 AFA release.

“When I asked why, I was told they did not want to short the community,” said Kalluk, noting there was were seven million litres left in local fuel tanks.

“In August, seven foreign owned yachts received fuel in Arctic Bay, but our vessel, which is Nunavut owned and operated and registered in Canada could not receive fuel so it could help our communities. In fact I was told by a government official to send our vessel to Greenland.”

That trip took six days, Kalluk said, refuelling in Greenland on Sept. 25.

Due to the delay, ice conditions then made it impossible to reach Resolute Bay, Kalluk said, and the vessel won’t be able to conduct any other exploratory fishery work in Lancaster Sound this year, as was planned.

For its part, the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Community and Government Services, which oversees Nunavut’s Petroleum Products Division, said that it’s not equipped to fuel large vessels at seas.

“Vessels are aware that there is no vessel refueling services available in Arctic Bay,” said a response emailed to Nunatsiaq News. “Refueling in Greenland has been common practice for many years.”

A request to fuel at Nanisivik, a 31-kilometre drive away, was declined because road conditions between Arctic Bay and Nanisivik are too dangerous, CGS added.

In addition, the GN maintains there was only 2.8 million litres of fuel available in Arctic Bay’s tank farm at the time — not seven.

“Large sea vessels require large amounts of fuel and often, numerous refuelings,” CGS said in its emailed response.

“This puts unnecessary pressure on the Petroleum Products Division’s capacity and fuel inventories, and puts communities at risk of having a shortfall in fuel supply. Our priority is delivering fuel to the communities.”

This is the Kiviuq’s second year conducting research in the High Arctic.

AFA has not previously established an agreement with the GN for fueling in Nunavut communities, although its members say they did not anticipate that a Nunavut-owned company would be turned away.

The AFA’s other vessel, the Suvak, was tasked this year with fishing part of the territory’s turbot quota in the Davis Strait. Given the lack of marine infrastructure in Nunavut, that vessel generally takes fuel at Nuuk, Greenland.

But the AFA says it would much rather refuel in Nunavut communities.