1st commercial ship sails through Northwest Passage
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3622367The Canadian Coast Guard has confirmed that in a major first, a commercial ship travelled through the Northwest Passage this fall to deliver supplies to communities in western Nunavut.
The MV Camilla Desgagnés, owned by Desgagnés Transarctik Inc., transported cargo from Montreal to the hamlets of Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk, Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak in September.
"We did have a commercial cargo vessel that did the first scheduled run from Montreal, up through the eastern Arctic, through the Northwest Passage to deliver cargo to communities in the west," Brian LeBlanc of the Canadian Coast Guard told CBC News.
Rayes, who was on the vessel during its trip through the Northwest Passage, said the company informed the coast guard, which put an icebreaker on standby.
"They were ready to be there for us if we called them, but I didn't see one cube of ice," he said.
"That was the first — that I'm aware of anyway — commercial cargo delivery from the east through the Northwest Passage."