The PM, Sealift, & Visiting The MV Sinaa

I forgot to mention a big event that occurred in Arctic Bay at the beginning of August.  I should have written about it in my previous post but it slipped my mind because I wasn’t in Arctic Bay when it happened, much time has passed since the event occurred, and I’ve been focused on my work.  And maybe I was jealous of the people who were in attendance. 

            

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, visited the community on August 1, part of a two-day visit to Nunavut.  (His first stop was Iqaluit).  Also in attendance were: PJ Akeeagok, President of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA); Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, Fisheries Minister Johnathan Wilkinson, bodyguards, and members of the media.  The Prime Minister was in town to promote two new marine conservation areas, reconciliation, and Arctic development.  This year is an election year, so any support helps.  I previously wrote about the new conservation area near Arctic Bay in November 2018.  The area is called the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area.  The second area is the Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area, located on the northwest coast of Ellesmere Island.

            

Trudeau visited Qaapik Attagutsiak, Arctic Bay’s oldest elder, in her traditional residence.  He listened to her stories about growing up & living in the Arctic.  She also talked about the changes she’s witnessed over the course of her long life.  PJ Akeeagok acted as translator.  You can view the video of the exchange here.

            

A large meet & greet and feast was held at the community hall.  I was told the place was packed with people.  Trudeau took selfies, shook hands, personally spoke to people, and did a speech.  The speech included several campaign promises. 

            

You can read more about Trudeau’s visit on CBC News, Global News, and Nunatsiaq News.  I know all the people in the photographs.      

            

I really wish I was in town.  If I had known, I would have flown back earlier, or written a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office, asking them to delay the trip by a week.  They’ll be a next time for me to meet Justin Trudeau.  I hope.

Sealift season began in Arctic Bay at the end of August with the arrival of the MV Sinaa.  The vessel is operated by NEAS.  Many people were excited about their orders coming ashore.  I and several others would have to wait a few more days because our sealift orders were on the NSSI ship.  Since the community doesn’t have a deep sea port, the crew has to use the shoreline in front of the Northern Store to offload everything.  They prepare the area by moving loaders, metal ramps, and a makeshift office inside a sea can ashore.  The crucial links between the vessel and the shoreline are tugboats and barges.  Once the Shore Captain is satisfied with the setup, he informs the Captain of the Sinaa that the round the clock loading-transporting-unloading process can begin. 

            

The noise level around the shoreline sharply increases.  Large loaders drive around unloading sea cans and wooden crates off barges and placing them on the ground.  The ground quickly becomes muddy so you have to wear rubber boots.  The shore crew does its best to direct the drivers where to go but you still have to watch where you step.  It’s best to avoid the area unless you have to see the Shore Captain and sign paperwork.

            

NEAS is one of several sponsors of 3045 Army Cadet Corps.  In 2017, the company & I organized a tour of the MV Avataq for two groups of chosen cadets.  This year, I was able to arrange a tour of the MV Sinaa while it was anchored in the community.  Their schedule only allowed me to take 9 cadets. The tour was arranged for the late afternoon of August 30.

            

The chosen cadets & I arrived at the shoreline at 5pm.  The shoreline was abuzz with activity.  I introduced myself to the Shore Captain and he gave me a quick lesson on the rules my group had to follow.  He then gave me life vests and hard helmets to distribute to the cadets.  Safety first.  We waited until a barge was unloaded and the Shore Captain gave us permission to board.  The cadets were excited.  A tugboat began pushing the barge towards the ship at 5:30pm.  We were on our way.

            

It took 15 minutes for the tugboat to push us to the Sinaa.  In that time, the community appeared smaller and the vessel appeared larger.  It’s difficult to measure distances and sizes in the north due to the lack of point-of-references.  There’s so much open space and everything is spread out that the only way to know the true size of a something is to get really close to it.  From the shoreline, the Sinaa looks small but in reality, it’s a big ship that’s 137.16m long, 18.90m wide, and displaces 8,448 metric tonnes when full of cargo. 

            

The tugboat pushed us around the stern (rear) of the ship.  We were then pushed up against the starboard (right-side) where there was a rope ladder waiting for us.  The rope ladder was hooked to the barge and we were given clearance to climb aboard.  I watched my cadets slowly climbing up the ladder.  They were a little nervous but they safely made it onboard.  I was the last one to climb aboard.  We were met by two crewmembers who escorted us to the bow (front) of the ship.  We had to watch our heads because the passageways are low & narrow.

            

One of the crewmembers with us was an Inuk man from Nunavik (Northern Quebec).  The second crewmember was a French Quebecer.  They explained how the anchors worked and the type of strong chains & ropes they use to keep the anchors attached to the ship.  The anchoring systems on deck are made of metal & steel and look complicated.  They both led us down to the deck below to get a closer look at the anchor ropes and the emergency quick release system.

            

We moved towards the stern, using a narrow walkway on the port side (left side) of the ship.  I reminded the cadets who brought their phones to take pictures to hold them like their lives depended on it.  One wrong move and the phone will fall overboard and disappear into the depths of the sea.  I’m glad my camera comes with a wrist strap.  We passed several stacked sea containers and stopped in the middle to look at cranes lifting wooden crates from the lower decks.  The thick metal deck floors in middle of the ship can be moved and lifted to reveal the lower decks.  We could see the ship was packed with wooden crates, vehicles, and sea cans.  We were told that packing a ship of this size is not easy.  Everything has to be loaded according to the travel schedule.  (Ex: Cargo destined to the first community cannot be buried at the bottom of the ship).

            

Much of the emergency evacuation equipment is located at the stern.  Here, one can find large white cylinder cases that contain inflatable life rafts and large orange rescue craft that carry 22 passengers.  The crewmembers told us everyone is trained to use the rescue craft and the scariest part of training is experiencing the “drop into the sea”.  You can sustain serious injuries if you’re not tightly secured into your seat.

            

The Chief Officer showing the cadets some
of the complex equipment on the brdige.

The next stop on the tour was the bridge.  Captain Lizotte & his senior staff were there to greet us.  The Captain & his staff were the same crew who operated the MV Avataq in 2017.  There were only a few crew changes.  Greetings and handshakes were exchanged.  The Captain and his staff showed the cadets all the equipment, its importance to the operation of the ship, and even let them try out the steering wheel.  I stood back and took pictures for Facebook.

            

The cadets listen as Captain Lizotte explains how the steering controls work.

What interested me were the maps the Captain was using to navigate the northern waterways.  What I discovered was that the maps are dated and only a small portion of Admiralty Inlet include depth markings.  Arctic Bay and Victory Bay are fully marked while Strathcona Sound and Adams Sound are half marked.  Captain Lizotte explained these maps are all that are available and the sealift vessels only sail where there are depth markings.  If I ever become Prime Minister of Canada, I’m going to fund many northern expeditions to record & catalogue the depths of Canada’s Arctic waters.  Climate change is opening up the Northwest Passage to more ship traffic so the information is needed for expanded shipping lanes and to prevent disasters. 

            

NEAS gave us a large flag of theirs two years ago when they announced their sponsorship of the corps.  I brought it with me so that a group photo could be taken of us with the bridge crew.  I also brought the Royal Regiment of Canada flag.  (The corps is affiliated with the Regiment).  NEAS could use the photo for advertising purposes.  I thanked the Captain and his senior staff for letting us tour the Sinaa.

            

We were given earplugs and led down to the engine room.  The layout is similar to the MV Avataq.  All you hear is a loud continuous drone of the diesel engines.  I should have brought my cellphone; it contains an application that measures sound in decibels.  The smell of oil is present throughout the compartments.  We walked around, looking at the all complex machinery, and trying to listen to a crewmember explain what they all do.  He had to shout so that we could hear him.  We were then led into a monitoring room where we could safely remove our earplugs.  The Chief Engineer was there to meet us.  He introduced himself and explained how the monitoring equipment worked.  At the end of his short speech he had one of the crewmembers take a group photo of us with his camera.     

            

Mitsubishi Generator.

Chief Engineer (left).

Cadets in the mess hall.

The last place we visited was the mess hall (cafeteria).  The crew had prepared snacks & juice for us.  It was nice to sit after standing & walking for nearly three hours.  The crewmembers concluded the tour by describing life onboard the ship, the food they eat, and how to pass the time while off duty.  They also answered any questions we had about working for NEAS.  We thanked them for the tour and their hospitality.  They escorted us down to the same rope ladder we used to climb aboard.  I descended the ladder first, stepping onto a barge packed with wooden crates & sea containers.  Once everyone was onboard, we walked around the edge of the barge and stepped onto the tugboat.  The driver then began pushing the barge towards Arctic Bay.

           

It took 15 minutes for us to get to the shoreline.  It took another 20 minutes for the loaders to remove enough crates & sea cans off the barge to let us step onto the shore.  We could have jumped into the shallow water but none of us wanted to get our clothes wet.  We returned the life vests and hard helmets to the Shore Captain.  I thanked him again for helping us with the tour.  The cadets were then dismissed for the day.  The entire experience took 3 & a half hours.

            

Overall, the tour was excellent!  I would like to thank Captain Lizotte, his crew, and NEAS Management for helping me organize the tour of the MV Sinaa.  I would spend the next several days reviewing and editing all the photographs I took for the cadet Facebook page and this blog.