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MTS finishes in the red for second year
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Airlift to Sachs Harbour adds to operating losses; 18,478 tonnes of deck cargo delivered in 2022
By Derek Neary Northern News Services
A division of the Department of Infrastructure, Marine Transportation Services (MTS) brought in $41 million in revenue in 2022, up from $27.4 million the previous year, according to the GNWT’s budget.
Expenses for fuel sales, delivery costs, and shipyard and terminal operations also climbed, reaching $39 million in 2022-23, considerably higher than the $25.8 million expended in 2021-22.
When other expenses are added to the mix — such as staff compensation, insurance, administration, amortization and utilities and interest — MTS finished the year with annual operating losses of $7.1 million, exceeding the $5.8 million in losses recorded in 2021-22, the territorial government’s budget shows. However, there’s an extraordinary expense that wasn’t yet fully reflected in the MTS budget.
A barge that was destined for Sachs Harbour was cancelled on Oct. 13 due to high winds. Consequently, the GNWT or- ganized a two-part airlift to deliver the deck cargo, gasoline, diesel and jet fuel that never arrived in the community via marine transport.
“The airlift operation has resulted in additional expenditures outside of what was contemplated in the 2022 MTS budget. The fuel portion of the airlift operation will not be complete until approximately mid-May. MTS expects to know the full costs of the operation by June 2023 after the airlift is complete and final invoices are received,” the Department of Infrastructure stated in early May, adding that residents will not be paying for the additional costs of this operation.
MTS will have an operating and general expenditures budget of $32.1 million for the 2023-24 fiscal year. That revolving fund has an authorized limit of $35 million.
During the 2022 shipping season, the operation delivered fuel and cargo to nine NWT communities, one Nunavut community and two fishing lodges on Great Slave Lake. A total of 18,478 revenue tonnes of deck cargo was delivered. MTS used industry contractors to transfer millions of litres of fuel to Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, and Norman Wells in 2022.
MTS
