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Marine Transportation Services

February 12, 2024

"Radium line" redirects here. For spectral lines of radium, see radium. For the line of decay, see radium series.

Marine Transportation Services[1] (MTS) formerly Northern Transportation Company Limited (NTCL) is a marine transportation company operating primarily in the Mackenzie River watershed of the Northwest Territories and northern Alberta, and the Arctic Ocean using a fleet of diesel tug boats and shallow-draft barges.[2] NTCL filed for bankruptcy in 2016 and its assets were acquired by the Government of the Northwest Territories later that year.

Reassembly of the Radium King, 1937.

History edit

The company was an outgrowth of the competition in the Northwest Territories and Northern Alberta between the new Northern Traders Company and the entrenched Hudson's Bay Company.[2][3] Colonel James Cornwall, one of the principals of the Northern Traders Company,[3] ran his first steamer, a stern wheeler The Midnight Sun,[4] on the Lesser Slave River in 1904.[5] The company acted as a kind of subsidiary of the Northern Trading Company until its formal creation in 1930 as Northern Waterways Limited, but its name was changed in 1934 to the Northern Transportation Company Limited.[6]

 
NTCL tug and barges overwintering in Cambridge Bay after the annual sealift

In the summer of 1934, the company's first season, it operated with small tugboats and power barges. From Waterways to Fort Fitzgerald on the Athabasca/Slave River, it used the motor tugboat Mabel with three barges; from Fort Smith to Aklavik on the Slave/Mackenzie Rivers, it used a 90-foot twin diesel powered barge with two barges carrying 300-tons per trip; from Fort Smith to Fort Rae (now Behchokǫ̀) on the north end of Great Slave Lake it used a power barge with 100-ton capacity. On the Bear River route into Great Bear Lake, where significant silver and uranium mineral exploration was underway in 1934, the company used a series of boats and barges. The tugboat Norman operated from Fort Norman (now Tulita) to the head of the first rapids with a 50-ton barge. Freight was then transferred around the rapid portage to the vessel Sternwheeler with 20-ton capacity, operating up the Bear River to the next set of rapids. After that portage, freight was transferred to a tugboat pushing a 50-ton barge to Fort Franklin (now Délı̨nę) on Great Bear Lake. Finally, freight was transferred onto a 90-foot power barge suitable for lake traffic pushing two 90-foot barges with carrying capacity of 350-tons, destined for Port Radium and Cameron Bay mining camps.[7]

In 1936, NTCL was taken over by the Eldorado Gold Mines Limited and Arthur Berry was appointed manager in Edmonton. In 1944, it became a Crown corporation when its parent, then known as Eldorado Mining and Refining, was nationalized by the Government of Canada.[6]

NTCL's water freighting activities in the early years were focused on the Athabasca/Slave/Mackenzie River systems as a means to supply the Northwest Territories and northern Alberta with freight. Mineral development, commercial sawmills, wartime strategic projects (such as the Canol pipeline in 1942), and the growth of settlements in these districts lead to a growth in demand for NTCL's services. Its flagships were the Radium Queen and Radium King both commissioned in 1937 for use on the upper and lower Slave Rivers.[8] Other vessels in this fleet included the Radium Express, Radium Yellowknife, Radium Prince, Radium Cruiser, Radium Scout, Radium Charles, Radium Gilbert and Radium Lad, earning the fleet the name "The Radium Line". Port Radium on Great Bear Lake, a mine that supplied much of the uranium used by the Manhattan Project, and later the uranium mines on Lake Athabasca in northern Saskatchewan, were key destinations for the fleet. All of the tugs had extremely shallow draft, and mounted their propellers in cavities under their hull. Five vessels in the fleet, the George Askew, the Watson Lake, Horn River, Sandy Jane and Great Bear, did not include "Radium" in their name.[9]

Construction of Distant Early Warning communication sites along the Arctic Ocean coastline in the 1950s provided an opportunity for the company to expand and engineer larger and more efficient tugboats and barges. In 1975, then under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard Northern Division of Transport Canada, it became the sole marine shipper in the Canadian Arctic operating of out of Churchill, Manitoba.[6] In 1959, it moved its operational headquarters from Fort Smith on the Slave River, to the town of Hay River.[10] In 1965 NTCL purchased Yellowknife Transportation Company and Arctic Transportation to become sole commercial marine freighter in the Northwest Territories and Arctic Ocean.

In 1985, NTCL was purchased by the Inuvialuit Development Corporation and Nunasi Corporation, two native-owned corporations.[11][6] On April 1, 2014, the Inuvialuit Development Corporation (IDC) bought the 50% share of NorTerra held by Nunasi. This purchase of NorTerra gave the IDC complete control of Canadian North, NTCL and other companies that were jointly held.[12][13] NTCL filed for bankruptcy in 2016 and its assets were acquired by the Government of the Northwest Territories later that year in order to ensure that the essential fuel transportation service continued for residents of the Northwest Territories.[14]

References edit

  1. ^ Marine Transportation Services
  2. ^ a b Ted Barris (26 September 2015). Fire Canoe: Prairie Steamboat Days Revisited. Dundurn Press 2015. ISBN 9781459732100. Retrieved 2020-08-22.
  3. ^ a b Ray, Arthur J. (1990) The Canadian Fur Trade in the Industrial Age University of Toronto Press, Toronto, p. 104, ISBN 0-8020-6743-3
  4. ^ Athabasca Landing
  5. ^ MacGregor, James Grierson (1974) Paddle wheels to bucket-wheels on the Athabasca McClelland and Stewart, Toronto, p. 116, ISBN 0-7710-5450-5
  6. ^ a b c d McCalla, Robert J. (1994) Water Transportation in Canada Formac Publishing Company, Halifax, p. 207-210, ISBN 0-88780-247-8
  7. ^ Bear Lake Miner, July 1934
  8. ^ The Montreal Gazette, April 15, 1937
  9. ^ "Status Report for the Historic Northern Transportation Route redacted colour" (PDF). Atomic Energy of Canada. December 2005. p. 86. Retrieved 2018-01-13. Ships were used along the NTR to move barges loaded with uranium ore and concentrates (among other materials and supplies). Some vessels also transported cargo on board. Fifteen Radium Series vessels used along the NTR were identified in SENES (1994). Three were determined to have been scrapped, and the disposition of one, the Radium Cruiser, was unknown. Radiological investigations were conducted on the other eleven vessels. Only one, the Radium Gilbert, showed any evidence of contamination.
  10. ^ "History - the Town of Hay River" 2008-05-13 at the Wayback Machine, official website of the Town of Hay River
  11. ^ The NorTerra Group of Companies 2008-12-04 at the Wayback Machine, corporate website
  12. ^ "Nunasi Corp. sells its stake in NorTerra, Canadian North". CBC News North. April 1, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  13. ^ "Nunasi Corp. sells its half of Norterra to the Inuvialuit". Nunatsiaq News. Nortext Publishing Corporation. April 1, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  14. ^ . Government of the Northwest Territories. December 16, 2016. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Northern Transportation Company Limited at Wikimedia Commons
  • homepage of Northern Transportation Company Limited
  • "Northern Transportation Company Limited" from Inuit Business Directory
  • 1934 Northern Transportation Company Limited NWT Historical Timeline, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre

February 12, 2024
marine, transportation, services, radium, line, redirects, here, spectral, lines, radium, radium, line, decay, radium, series, formerly, northern, transportation, company, limited, ntcl, marine, transportation, company, operating, primarily, mackenzie, river, . Radium line redirects here For spectral lines of radium see radium For the line of decay see radium series Marine Transportation Services 1 MTS formerly Northern Transportation Company Limited NTCL is a marine transportation company operating primarily in the Mackenzie River watershed of the Northwest Territories and northern Alberta and the Arctic Ocean using a fleet of diesel tug boats and shallow draft barges 2 NTCL filed for bankruptcy in 2016 and its assets were acquired by the Government of the Northwest Territories later that year Reassembly of the Radium King 1937 History editThe company was an outgrowth of the competition in the Northwest Territories and Northern Alberta between the new Northern Traders Company and the entrenched Hudson s Bay Company 2 3 Colonel James Cornwall one of the principals of the Northern Traders Company 3 ran his first steamer a stern wheeler The Midnight Sun 4 on the Lesser Slave River in 1904 5 The company acted as a kind of subsidiary of the Northern Trading Company until its formal creation in 1930 as Northern Waterways Limited but its name was changed in 1934 to the Northern Transportation Company Limited 6 nbsp NTCL tug and barges overwintering in Cambridge Bay after the annual sealiftIn the summer of 1934 the company s first season it operated with small tugboats and power barges From Waterways to Fort Fitzgerald on the Athabasca Slave River it used the motor tugboat Mabel with three barges from Fort Smith to Aklavik on the Slave Mackenzie Rivers it used a 90 foot twin diesel powered barge with two barges carrying 300 tons per trip from Fort Smith to Fort Rae now Behchokǫ on the north end of Great Slave Lake it used a power barge with 100 ton capacity On the Bear River route into Great Bear Lake where significant silver and uranium mineral exploration was underway in 1934 the company used a series of boats and barges The tugboat Norman operated from Fort Norman now Tulita to the head of the first rapids with a 50 ton barge Freight was then transferred around the rapid portage to the vessel Sternwheeler with 20 ton capacity operating up the Bear River to the next set of rapids After that portage freight was transferred to a tugboat pushing a 50 ton barge to Fort Franklin now Deli ne on Great Bear Lake Finally freight was transferred onto a 90 foot power barge suitable for lake traffic pushing two 90 foot barges with carrying capacity of 350 tons destined for Port Radium and Cameron Bay mining camps 7 In 1936 NTCL was taken over by the Eldorado Gold Mines Limited and Arthur Berry was appointed manager in Edmonton In 1944 it became a Crown corporation when its parent then known as Eldorado Mining and Refining was nationalized by the Government of Canada 6 NTCL s water freighting activities in the early years were focused on the Athabasca Slave Mackenzie River systems as a means to supply the Northwest Territories and northern Alberta with freight Mineral development commercial sawmills wartime strategic projects such as the Canol pipeline in 1942 and the growth of settlements in these districts lead to a growth in demand for NTCL s services Its flagships were the Radium Queen and Radium King both commissioned in 1937 for use on the upper and lower Slave Rivers 8 Other vessels in this fleet included the Radium Express Radium Yellowknife Radium Prince Radium Cruiser Radium Scout Radium Charles Radium Gilbert and Radium Lad earning the fleet the name The Radium Line Port Radium on Great Bear Lake a mine that supplied much of the uranium used by the Manhattan Project and later the uranium mines on Lake Athabasca in northern Saskatchewan were key destinations for the fleet All of the tugs had extremely shallow draft and mounted their propellers in cavities under their hull Five vessels in the fleet the George Askew the Watson Lake Horn River Sandy Jane and Great Bear did not include Radium in their name 9 Construction of Distant Early Warning communication sites along the Arctic Ocean coastline in the 1950s provided an opportunity for the company to expand and engineer larger and more efficient tugboats and barges In 1975 then under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard Northern Division of Transport Canada it became the sole marine shipper in the Canadian Arctic operating of out of Churchill Manitoba 6 In 1959 it moved its operational headquarters from Fort Smith on the Slave River to the town of Hay River 10 In 1965 NTCL purchased Yellowknife Transportation Company and Arctic Transportation to become sole commercial marine freighter in the Northwest Territories and Arctic Ocean In 1985 NTCL was purchased by the Inuvialuit Development Corporation and Nunasi Corporation two native owned corporations 11 6 On April 1 2014 the Inuvialuit Development Corporation IDC bought the 50 share of NorTerra held by Nunasi This purchase of NorTerra gave the IDC complete control of Canadian North NTCL and other companies that were jointly held 12 13 NTCL filed for bankruptcy in 2016 and its assets were acquired by the Government of the Northwest Territories later that year in order to ensure that the essential fuel transportation service continued for residents of the Northwest Territories 14 References edit Marine Transportation Services a b Ted Barris 26 September 2015 Fire Canoe Prairie Steamboat Days Revisited Dundurn Press 2015 ISBN 9781459732100 Retrieved 2020 08 22 a b Ray Arthur J 1990 The Canadian Fur Trade in the Industrial Age University of Toronto Press Toronto p 104 ISBN 0 8020 6743 3 Athabasca Landing MacGregor James Grierson 1974 Paddle wheels to bucket wheels on the Athabasca McClelland and Stewart Toronto p 116 ISBN 0 7710 5450 5 a b c d McCalla Robert J 1994 Water Transportation in Canada Formac Publishing Company Halifax p 207 210 ISBN 0 88780 247 8 Bear Lake Miner July 1934 The Montreal Gazette April 15 1937 Status Report for the Historic Northern Transportation Route redacted colour PDF Atomic Energy of Canada December 2005 p 86 Retrieved 2018 01 13 Ships were used along the NTR to move barges loaded with uranium ore and concentrates among other materials and supplies Some vessels also transported cargo on board Fifteen Radium Series vessels used along the NTR were identified in SENES 1994 Three were determined to have been scrapped and the disposition of one the Radium Cruiser was unknown Radiological investigations were conducted on the other eleven vessels Only one the Radium Gilbert showed any evidence of contamination History the Town of Hay River Archived 2008 05 13 at the Wayback Machine official website of the Town of Hay River The NorTerra Group of Companies Archived 2008 12 04 at the Wayback Machine corporate website Nunasi Corp sells its stake in NorTerra Canadian North CBC News North April 1 2014 Retrieved April 25 2020 Nunasi Corp sells its half of Norterra to the Inuvialuit Nunatsiaq News Nortext Publishing Corporation April 1 2014 Retrieved April 25 2020 Government of the Northwest Territories purchases assets of NTCL Government of the Northwest Territories December 16 2016 Archived from the original on January 20 2018 External links edit nbsp Media related to Northern Transportation Company Limited at Wikimedia Commons homepage of Northern Transportation Company Limited Northern Transportation Company Limited from Inuit Business Directory 1934 Northern Transportation Company Limited NWT Historical Timeline Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Marine Transportation Services amp oldid 1177352796, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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