The manager of the group of hunters and hunters in Taloyoak, Nunavut, says a truck sunk by an Arctic expedition in one of the best hunting grounds in his community feels like a “knife blow to the back”.
“We live off the land. We are not farmers. We are hunters and gatherers and we need our game to be clean,” said Jimmy Oleakatalik. “We want it cleaned up as soon as possible.”
The trans-global car expedition, with crew members from Iceland, Ukraine, Russia, Canada and the United States, lost a modified Ford F-150 across the ice northwest of Taloyoak on March 23. The incident happened after the expedition successfully traveled by land from Yellowknife to Resolute Bay, Nunavut, while part of the team was returning to Cambridge Bay.
The vehicle is now at the bottom of the ocean between the islands of Tasmania.
Oleekatalik and Joe Ashevak, chairman of the Spence Bay Hunters ‘and Hunters’ Association, said the area – 240 kilometers northwest of Taloyoak – is known to be home to belugas, narwhals, seals, walruses and arctic eagles.
“It will harm wildlife in one way or another,” Ashevak said.
Jimmy Olicatalick, left, and Joe Ashewak, right, are leaders of the Spence Bay Hunters ‘and Hunters’ Association in Taloyoak. They are worried that the sunken truck is polluting marine animals in one of the main hunting grounds in their community. (Submitted by Jimmy Oleekatalik)
According to a report telephoned in a 24-hour spill line that serves both Nunavut and NWT, the truck contained 40 liters of fuel, other liquid and a spare generator.
Ashewak said people in Taloyoak and Gjoa Haven, a community in the south, were “not happy” with what happened. They worry that fuel and lubricants will leak out of the vehicle and contaminate the food chain, which is an integral part of their lifestyle.
The expedition told CBC News that the truck’s fuel tank appeared intact and a closed system containing antifreeze would have to be damaged in order for fluid to leak.
However, Ashewak said the vehicle was not far from the surface and would be “obliged” to be hit by icebergs in the spring and summer.
Andrew Dumbrill, an independent shipping consultant, said any type of ocean spill was “very destructive”. He is an advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance and has been a leading specialist in maritime navigation and conservation at the World Wildlife Fund – Canada.
“Oils and lubricants, petrol and diesel, they bioaccumulate in the environment, they don’t disappear, they don’t disappear,” he said. “They accumulate in the adipose tissue of marine mammals or fish … and hence it affects human health.”
The loss of the truck was avoided
Concerns about pollution are not the only reason Oleakatalik and Ashevak say their communities are upset. Oleakatalik said the Tasmanian islands were “very dangerous” at this time of year due to the rapid flow of water under the ice.
If the expedition had consulted with the people of Taloyoak, they say the incident could have been completely avoided.
“We could at least advise them for areas where there is fast water and open pollen or places where it is dangerous to travel,” Ashevak said. “You can at least tell them that some areas of [the] the ocean is not safe for heavy vehicles. ”
The preliminary implementation of the Transglobal Car Expedition for 2022 took them from Yellowknife to Resolute Bay and back. They lost a Ford F-150 on the ice back. (CBC)
During the trip north, the expedition said the ice was 50 centimeters thick among the islands. When the truck sank in the same area five days later, they said they were shocked to find it was only 15 centimeters thick.
“They had to consult with us,” Oleakatalik said, adding that the community would be “happy” to provide guidance. “This is our hunting ground. This is our livelihood. This is what we know.”
‘We are very sorry’
Emil Grimson, an Icelandic member of the expedition tasked with assessing whether the truck could be restored, said the team was “very sorry” for what had happened.
Without fully committing to this, Grimson said it was “very likely” that they would restore the vehicle. He expects a decision by the end of May, after assessing the risks, costs and what permits are needed.
“We will not do anything until the ice is gone,” he said.
Photo of Taloyoak, Nunavut, late February 2014. Leaders of the local hunters ‘and trappers’ association say they are worried that a 240-kilometer truck is polluting wildlife, which is an integral part of their lifestyle. (Tristan in Ottawa / Flickr)
A spokesman for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), the lead agency for the spill report, told CBC News in an email that they were not involved in the actual retrieval of the vehicle. The spokesman said that it was CIRNAC’s responsibility to comply with Canadian law – in this case the Nunavut Waters Act and the Nunavut Surface Rights Tribunal – and to ensure that the necessary containment and clean-up measures were in place.
CIRNAC may also fine the expedition.
“It is still in the early stages of the investigation to determine whether sanctions will be applied. Any form of enforcement will be evaluated and re-evaluated at a later date, “the spokesman said.
The Nunavut Impact Review Board conducts impact assessments for Nunavut activities and developments. Its executive director, Karen Costello, said the expedition did not require an assessment, as it did not include archeological research, water use or wildlife sampling.
An example of disaster
The expedition was a one-month preliminary expedition to travel around the world – and became headlines when its crew flew to Yellowknife on a Russian charter plane in early March.
Transport Canada has been fined a Russian passenger who rented the plane, the two pilots of the plane and the operator of the plane. The plane violated airspace rules imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A trans-global car expedition travels from Yellowknife, NWT to Resolute Bay, Nunavut in modified Ford F-150 trucks and amphibious vehicles called Yemelyas. (Transglobal Car Expedition)
Grimson said he had plans for better consultation and research while in Yellowknife, but the team was distracted by the unexpected challenges.
“We could have done better,” he said. “The thing we need to do is learn, we need to know who to talk to.”
Grimson also believes that the amount of liquid that can leak from the vehicle over a period of several years will be “less than a liter” and community members’ environmental concerns may be “slightly overestimated”.
However, Oleekatalik said the incident was “a prime example of disaster”.
“This [is] it really upset the whole community, the whole region. ”
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