Mackenzie River News

Four new 90-meter oil/deck cargo barges for Canada's Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) Marine Transportation Services (MTS) have been launched by Nanjing Jinling Shipyard, in Nanjing, China.The first barge MTS 3501 was launched on June 16, followed by barge MTS 3502 launched on June 22 and barges MTS 3503 and MTS 3504 launched on June 28.The barges will undergo final testing and touch-up work in preparation for the 400-kilometer tow down the Yangtse River to Shanghai where they will be loaded onto a semi-submersible heavy lift vessel and transported to Tuktoyaktuk…

On October 10, 2019 the steel cutting ceremony took place at Jiangsu Jinling Shipyard, Co. Ltd. in Yizheng, China (a subsidiary of the Nanjing Jinling Shipyard) for four oil/deck cargo barges being constructed for the Government of the Northwest Territories in Northern Canada.Steel blocks will be constructed at the Yizheng shipyard and then barged approx. 50 kilometers up the Yangtze River to Nanjing Jinling Shipyard for final assembly. Following steel cutting the construction is expected to take 9 months…

At the completion of its 1,000 km drive along the highway from Edmonton to Hay River and the 850 km sail down the Mackenzie River to Norman Wells, the Aurora Yukon was delivered to its owner by the builder Waiward Steel LP of Edmonton, AB. The Aurora Yukon will operate with an existing tug, to carry vehicles and passengers across the Mackenzie River at Norman Wells. The Aurora Yukon replaces an existing barge which was originally built in 1969. The barge was designed by Robert Allan Ltd.

Over the last few years, as the design output from Robert Allan Ltd. to the global tugboat community began to border on the prodigious, we were often asked, “How many tugs has your company designed?” Until very recently we really did not have a good handle on that number, so the answer was usually either “a lot” or “many hundreds”, neither of which were particularly illuminating. So a search was begun late in 2016 to review our archives and try to determine the tug tally much more precisely. Would we rival Helen? Where did it all begin?

Imperial Oil Ltd said on Friday it and partners Exxon Mobil Corp  and BP Plc need more time before they can drill an exploratory well in Canadian Arctic waters and are seeking an extension to their exploration license in the region. Pius Rolheiser, a spokesman for Imperial, said the license for the group's exploration parcel in the Beaufort Sea, a section of the Arctic Ocean, expires in 2020. He said the group is asking the Canadian government for a seven-year extension so it can complete the requirements of the regulatory process and have adequate time to make a decision on how, or when, it will drill a well in the region. "There's a significant amount of work between where we are today and where we would need to be if we were to drill a well by 2020," Rolheiser said.

Volvo Penta allows operators to save on fuel, cut emissions and most importantly – get the job done, in a wide array of conditions and mission sets. Volvo Penta of the Americas is delivering fuel efficiency, reducing emissions and raising performance as it powers U.S. and Canadian vessels with modern diesel engines, Jens Bering, product management head of the Virginia-based operation said last month. The company, a supplier of marine and industrial engines, is part of Volvo Group in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Canadian government has announced the award of two contracts totaling $1.1M to Northern Transportation Company Limited for Vessel Life Extension refit work to Canadian Coast Guard ships 'CCGS Dumit' and 'CCGS Eckaloo'. These two vessels, based in Hay River, provide Aid to Navigation services on the Mackenzie River. Vessel condition surveys are being conducted on the CCGS Dumit and CCGS Eckaloo in advance of the vessel life extension work which will take place in multiple phases beginning in October 2014.

Four Robert Allan designed shallow draft, double hull, combined bulk oil & deck barges, built in China for ITB North Limited, are now in service delivering bulk fuel oil and deck cargoes to various locations in the Far North less than 11 months after the original design contract was placed. When ITB Marine Group decided to expand their operations to the Mackenzie River, they chose to work once again with Robert Allan Ltd. to design their new shallow draft double hull oil barges.

Northern Transportation Company Ltd. of Hay River, Canada, recently completed a major refit of one of their quad screw pusher-towing tugs, the Edgar Kotokak. Vancouver's Robert Allan Ltd. provided design and engineering services for the refit which improved the operational efficiency of the tug. The refit included new CAT 3512B engines and replaced the open propellers and rudders with integrated Nautican Nozzles and Triple Rudders. Although total engine power increased from 4,500 to 5,640 hp on the Edgar Kotokak, and obviously bollard pull trials showed improvement, anecdotal evidence from the first month or so of operation seems to indicate that both the nozzles and Triple Rudders together with the new engines have improved the overall fuel efficiency.

MetalCraft Marine Inc.'s latest delivery is a 38-ft. Fisheries Patrol Boat for the Canadian Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans, for deployment on Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River. The Kingston series of Deep V, open water vessels has been under construction in MetalCraft's custom shop since 1987, with sizes ranging from 20 to 58 ft. The vessel was designed for a crew of three on missions of up to five days, with a 600 nautical mile range. Propulsion is by twin 230-hp KAD43P stern drives, with a top speed of 33 kots light. Dual station Keikhaefer controls mean the vessel can be operated from the main cabin or the open flybridge, an important consideration when patrolling or performing search and rescue. The vessel measures 38 ft.

MetalCraft Marine Inc.'s latest delivery is a 38-ft. Fisheries Patrol Boat for the Canadian Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans, for deployment on Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River. The Kingston series of Deep V, open water vessels has been under construction in MetalCraft's custom shop since 1987, with sizes ranging from 20 to 58 ft. The vessel was designed for a crew of three on missions of up to five days, with a 600 nautical mile range. Propulsion is by twin 230-hp KAD43P stern drives, with a top speed of 33 kots light. Dual station Keikhaefer controls mean the vessel can be operated from the main cabin or the open flybridge, an important consideration when patrolling or performing search and rescue. The vessel measures 38 ft.