Marine Transportation Services announced that the 2025 Barge Season has been in full swing for one month, delivering millions of litres in fuel and other supplies along the Mackenzie River.
Delivery of fuel and dry cargo to Norman Wells was just completed. Another delivery to Tulita with dry cargo is on schedule.
Fort Good Hope received a second shipment from Inuvik. The delivery included 2,121,005 litres of diesel and 74.73 tonnes of deck cargo.
MTS reported that a second sailing to the Sahtu is currently underway.
The barge is scheduled to arrive in Tulita this week and then head to Hay River for additional deliveries.
MTS reported that they have delivered 5,386,029 litres of diesel and 989,711 litres of gas to the remaining Sahtu communities.
MTS said the Canadian Coast Guard will soon remove the buoys, “signaling the end of the Sahtu barging season” on the Mackenzie River.
“Lutselk’e has received their first shipment, with the second shipment scheduled for a mid-August departure,” said MTS in a social media post yesterday.
“The deliveries to the Inuvialuit Settlement Region and Inuvik will begin once the tankers arrive off the coast of Tuktoyaktuk. The vessels are currently standing by at Pt. Barrow, Alaska awaiting favorable ice conditions along the North Slope.”
Thanks to water levels that were assessed to be within acceptable ranges, the barge season has been able to continue from Hay River into the Sahtu regions along the Mackenzie River this year.
Last year it was a different story and even this year, things were a bit shaky at the beginning of the season. Back in late June, officials cautiously announced that the barge season was looking “optimistic” and so far.
The Marine Transportation Services carefully monitored water levels from Hay River into the Sahtu regions along the Mackenzie River before barge operations began.
At a public briefing in June, Terry Camsell, Marine Transportation Services director, had noted that the Mackenzie River was showing promising water levels.
The 2024 season saw unprecedented low water levels, resulting in the closure of barge navigation on the Mackenzie River.
Cargo for the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) was trucked to Tuktoyaktuk and loaded on barges for delivery. All fuel was shipped from Alaska via tankers and deliveries were made to Lutselk’e on Great Slave Lake.
NWT’s Department of Infrastructure moved over 7.7 million litres of fuel to communities via alternative routes.
This year, in late June, the water levels were assessed to be in a “marginal zone” between historic high and low levels, and it will depend entirely on the coast guard’s assessments, Camsell pointed out.
“The water system has recovered somewhat from that but is still suffering the after effects from 2024,” he cautioned.
Camsell had explained that water levels at Fort Providence Rapids would be critical as the rapids mark the start of the Mackenzie and the entrance into the Sahtu region.
“The water looks. Okay, right now. So as long as that holds for several weeks, they’ll be able to put the buoys in,” Camsell noted at that time.
The Canadian Coast Guard was also hopeful that a sufficient number of buoys would be placed to allow sailing operations to begin in the Sahtu. In May, Hennessy told True North FM about the importance of navigation along the Mackenzie River.
“The aids to navigation work carried out by the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) on the Mackenzie River is crucial to ensuring safe and efficient transit during the ice-free months. CCG recognizes the importance of the Mackenzie River, and continues to work closely with partners to ensure safe and efficient transit on this key route,” said Hennessy who explained that the CCG will assess water levels for spring buoy tending operations.
“CCG buoy tenders typically start placing buoys on the Mackenzie River in early/mid-June. These operations generally take three to four weeks, and are completed by early July. These operations may be completed earlier or later, due to factors such as water levels, weather, ice conditions, and other operational considerations,” added Hennessy.
