Sovereignty

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Capers and Capabilities  — While Canadian Leaders talk about Arctic
Sovereignty,  Vessels from
other Nations Cut Through Arctic Waters

Canadian  Political  Posturing  vs  Danish
 Air,  Land,  &  Sea - Based  Capabilities

On 19 September 2008,  before heading north to Iqaluit,  Prime Minister Stephen Harper said:
"We are concerned  [that]  Russian actions in other parts of  the world ... may indicate some desire
to work outside  the international framework  ...  that is why  we are taking  a range of
measures  –  including  military  measures  –  to strengthen our
 [ Arctic ]  sovereignty."  (CP)

August has been a month of showmanship for  Canadian Arctic  sovereignty.  More than 600 members of
 the Canadian Forces participated  in Operation Nanook 2008,  launched in Iqaluit on 19 August
by  Defence Minister  Peter MacKay.  Simultaneously,  Prime Minister  Stephen Harper had
embarked on a northern sovereignty junket of his own through the western Arctic.

Prime Minister  Harper has been talking tough.  To his original  "use it or lose it"
statement  about  the Arctic, Mr. Harper added "to protect the North, we must control  the 
North".  This comment was made
in Inuvik,  prior  to Mr. Harper boarding a Canadian Forces
Hercules aircraft  for the short hop [1] to the town  of  Tuktoyaktuk  on the shores 
of  the Arctic Ocean.  A few days before the many excitements of
a Prime Ministerial arrival, Tuktoyaktuk
had a lower- profile visitor that few will have noticed. In the third week of  August,  a modest,
blue-hulled ship dropped anchor off of  Tuk to refuel and take on supplies. There is nothing very remarkable
about that – but this vessel's story is worth telling.

Telecommunications & other kinds of  Infrastructure are Required in areas of  Low Density

The vessel at anchor offshore was a Danish cable laying ship,  the M/V  Peter Faber (left).  The 78.4
metre long Peter Faber displaces 2584 tonnes and has a draught of just 5 metres. Despite a relatively shallow
draught, the port of Tuktoyaktuk remains just beyond reach  –  as it is  for any ocean-going
craft other than barges.  As a result,  even smaller vessels  like the Peter Faber  are forced
 to anchor offshore and  then be supplied  by tug-and-barge.

Suffice to say, by southern Canadian standards, conditions in the Tuktoyaktuk region  –  indeed,
throughout the Mackenzie Delta generally – are challenging  and  most existing  infrastructure in
the area is primitive.  Extensive dredging is done in the Mackenzie River itself but this is not at all practical in
the open water of  the Arctic –  each year,  128  million tonnes  of  sediment
 from  the Mackenzie River  pours into  Mackenzie Bay. [2]

So,  the M/V Peter Faber sat  37 km off  the coast and awaited provisions. A bare minimum of food
supplies were taken on – even having re-provisioned in famously-expensive Japan, the crew were staggered by the
high grocery prices of  the NWT. Anyway, more critical stocks were the fuel and  lubricants for the coming
journey. And it is where the M/V Peter Faber had come from and  where she was going that is of  most
interest.

Denmark Improves its Infrastructure and  other Nations Benefit  –  including
Newfoundland

M/V Peter Faber  (which is owned by Alcatel