Swire Projects, the projects and heavy lift shipping services division of Swire Shipping, has utilised its ice-fitted multipurpose vessel Pacific Excellence to transport project materials for a Canadian mining company.
The cargoes, loaded in Valleyfield on the St Lawrence Seaway, will support the company’s mine expansion. They were stowed onboard the 12,700 dwt vessel, equipped with two 120-tonne capacity cranes, and transported through the Labrador Sea and the Northwest passage before arriving at the Bathurst Inlet anchorage.
In order to execute the move, Swire Projects secured a Polar Certification licence to operate in the Canadian Arctic, work permits to comply with Canadian immigration laws, and appointed a qualified ice pilot to navigate the voyage. “On top of working with an incredibly tight timeframe, operational challenges are always a normal part of working in the Arctic. We were faced with 35 knot winds, smoke interruption from the wildfires, swell and challenges with barge lightering operation,” the shipping line explained.
