The 2023 sailing season was fraught with setbacks for Marine Transportation Services (MTS) and the territorial government is examining options for alternative business models for NWT resupply.
Wildfires that forced the evacuation of Hay River, which is the base of operations for MTS, and historically-low water levels on the Mackenzie River forced the cancellation of some scheduled cargo and fuel delivery in Inuvik, Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Ulukhaktok, Kugluktuk, Tulita, Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope.
As a backup plan, the GNWT arranged to have cargo trucked to Inuvik through Yukon and then barged from there to the Beaufort Delta communities.
For Fort Good Hope, cargo was barged from Inuvik and fuel was sent by tanker from Tuktoyaktuk.
As of early May 2024, the Department of Infrastructure, which oversees MTS, still had not finalized its year-end financial reporting for 2023-24.
"However, costs incurred for evacuations, forest fires, and low water had a negative impact on the programSA国际影视传媒檚 ability to stay within budget," a department employee stated. "Costs incurred included flying and trucking cargo to Norman Wells and Tulita at no additional cost to the customers."
MTS reported losses of $7.1 million in 2022-23 and $5.8 million in 2021-22, although the former did not include all of the $1.6 million in costs for flying cargo into Sachs Harbour at the time, which was made necessary by the cancellation of the final barge to the Beaufort Delta community due to high winds.
The additional costs for last year will be much steeper. The GNWT arranged for fuel delivery to Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Ulukhaktok, Sachs Harbour and Paulatuk by tanker from a refinery in the state of Washington. That vessel travelled along the British Columbia coast and around Alaska to Tuktoyaktuk, where the fuel was transferred to MTS barges for delivery.
A total of 33 truckloads of cargo traversed the Dempster Highway to Tuktoyaktuk and delivered from there to eight communities. In addition, groceries were flown to Norman Wells last October.
In preparation for the 2024 sailing season, MTS is aiming to start shipping as early as possible by having the Canadian Coast Guard place buoys in the water earlier.
The cutoff date for shipping cargo will be earlier than usual -- June 15 -- except for Lutsel KSA国际影视传媒檈, which will have an Aug. 1 cutoff.
Barges cancelled, cargo rerouted
On May 23, the GNWT announced that unprecedented low water levels made it necessary to cancel barges to Tulita and Norman Wells. The Mackenzie River at Fort Providence was already so low that it was "not navigable."
Fuel delivery for Tulita would have to be made via the winter road in 2025, the GNWT stated. Fuel shipments to Norman Wells would be arranged by the private market, such as Imperial Oil.
Earlier in the month, MTS notified the public that cargo destined for communities north of Norman Wells would have to be sent to the Tuktoyatuk terminal instead of Hay River. This would affect Fort Good Hope, Aklavik, Kugluktuk, Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk and Ulukhaktok. The move was also attributed to extremely low water levels.
The Tuktoyaktuk terminal would open three weeks earlier than usual, on July 2, to accommodate the anticipated influx of cargo.
Uncertain future
The territorial government has commissioned a comprehensive independent review of the "governance and operations model" for MTS, Infrastructure Minister Caroline Wawzonek revealed in the legislative assembly in February.
"We are committed to reviewing multiple options to determine the best long-term plan for the territorial government's involvement in marine transportation," she said at the time. "We expect to have a draft report ready by this summer that will outline the MTS governance options.
"Residents and businesses will continue to depend on marine resupply services for years to come. No matter what governance option is chosen, what will not change is the number one priority of MTS which is delivering cost-effective, reliable, professional, and essential resupply services to Northern communities," Wawzonek added.
MTSSA国际影视传媒� workforce varies, but totals close to 170 personnel, some of whom are employees and some are contractors.
The GNWT paid $7.5 million to acquire the assets of the financially beleaguered Northern Transportation Company Ltd. (NTCL) SA国际影视传媒� the predecessor to MTS SA国际影视传媒� late in 2016.
Cargo rates rising
The Department of Infrastructure announced in March that cargo rates for the 2024 sailing season will be increasing by 4.5 per cent. Rates are adjusted based on the consumer price index, the department stated.
Fact file
Marine Transportation Services deliveries 2023-24
-11 communities delivered to: LutselkSA国际影视传媒檈, Tulita, Norman Wells, Fort Good Hope, Inuvik, Akalvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Ulukhaktok, and Kugluktuk
-3,400 tonnes of cargo shipped
-22.7 million litres of fuel delivered to northern communities
-2.8 million litres of fuel delivered to 12 North Warning Radar sites in Nunvaut, NWT and Yukon
Source: Department of Infrastructure
