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Iqaluit-Labrador vehicle ferry plan appears dead

Started by Kniwt, May 30, 2019, 01:41:14 PM

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Kniwt

Nunatsiaq News (Iqaluit) reports:
https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/high-costs-killed-iqaluit-labrador-vehicle-ferry-dream-nunavut-minister-says/

QuoteDue to high construction costs, Iqaluit's new deepsea port, now under construction, can't accommodate a once-dreamed-of Iqaluit-Labrador vehicle ferry service, Lorne Kusugak, the minister of Community and Government Services said this week.

... Peter Woodward, the vice-president of operations for the Woodward Group of Companies, told delegates in a presentation that, because of the GN decision to build a deepsea port, an Iqaluit-Labrador vehicle ferry service would soon follow.

Woodward's company, which holds a contract to deliver fuel to Nunavut every year, has made no secret of its desire to launch a dry cargo and ferry service between Iqaluit and the Port of Goose Bay.

And Woodward bragged that once his company's proposed vehicle ferry service got up and running, likely by 2020 or 2021, a typical Iqaluit ferry passenger would be able to drive a truck onto the ferry, sail to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, load up with low-cost groceries, then take the ferry back to Iqaluit.

But that dream vanished after Nunavut's Department of Economic Development and Transportation reviewed the numbers.


Chris

That would've been a 1500+ kilometer ferry ride. What is the ice situation in that area during the winter? Does the sea typically freezes over?

There are ferries that travel such a distance, for example there is a ferry from Denmark to Iceland.

Alps

Quote from: Chris on May 30, 2019, 01:48:48 PM
That would've been a 1500+ kilometer ferry ride. What is the ice situation in that area during the winter? Does the sea typically freezes over?

There are ferries that travel such a distance, for example there is a ferry from Denmark to Iceland.
"go grocery shopping 1,000 miles away!"

Kniwt


Alps

Quote from: Kniwt on May 31, 2019, 12:41:22 AM
Quote from: Alps on May 31, 2019, 12:15:26 AM
"go grocery shopping 1,000 miles away!"

And still probably cheaper.


Yeah, well, see, that's the price to have fruit in Nunavut that's reasonably fresh. If you're ferrying it back 1,000 miles, news flash, it won't be fresh.

oscar

A roughly comparable ferry run on the west coast (Bellingham WA-Homer AK) takes about six days. It has several stops along the way, but then some Inuit communities in northern Labrador and far northern Quebec might want some stops too if they have (or are willing to build) suitable harbor facilities.
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

vdeane

Labrador probably, but it doesn't look like it would be possible to service far northern Québec without a large detour.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

ghYHZ

#7
Here's the schedule for the new drive-on drive-off Ferry beginning this month, about halfway along the Labrador coast between Goose Bay and Nain.


https://www.tw.gov.nl.ca/ferryservices/schedules/pdf/2019/Goose_Bay_to_Points_North_Schedule-June_2019.pdf

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/labrador-ferry-named-1.5029341


You will now be able to take a vehicle where the previous ferry, the Northern Ranger carried passengers and cargo.


https://www.tw.gov.nl.ca/ferryservices/schedules/h_goosebay_nain.html


We travel to Labrador for work every couple of years to the Natuashish Innu First Nation. Perhaps the next trip will be by ferry instead of flying!


https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10565.msg250871#msg250871





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