Lack of winter transport

As has been the case in previous years, Disko Bay is iced up until later in the year. But there is still the possibility of sailing in some places.

In Oqaatsut, about 15 kilometers north of Ilulissat, fish procurement for the fish factory Rodebay Fish ApS is going well in the winter.

According to factory manager Knud Fleischer, the late ice this year has resulted in longer fishing periods and greater procurement.

The freezer room at the fish factory has a capacity of 300 tons, and it was full in January, but is now being filled again. If Royal Arctic Line A/S (RAL) cannot transport the halibut now, the factory will have to close for the next two months, says Knud Fleischer.

The director of Rodebay Fish ApS, one of the largest fish factories in Greenland, believes that regular RAL ship trips to the settlements are necessary to ensure stable production when it is ice-free in winter.

However, RAL's CEO Niels Clemensen emphasizes that there are restrictions on getting to the settlements outside the annual sailing schedule.

A dramatic increase in purchases

When Rodebay Fish ApS, owned by Polar Seafood A/S and the residents of Ilulissat and Oqaatsut, was established in 2020, the settlement experienced major business development. Knud Fleischer believes that the fish factory with its 11 employees is of great importance to the settlement and not least to the fishing industry.

This year, less ice than last year has meant that the procurement process has taken longer than usual, resulting in a 168 percent increase in the past two and a half months compared to the same period last year, he says.

Had to charter a ship

Rodebay Fish’s 300-ton freezer was only filled in January. To keep procurement and production running, Rodebay Fish had to charter a RAL ship on February 13, which cost the company up to 200,000 kroner, says Knud Fleischer.

We shipped 180 pallets of frozen halibut in January, and we are ready to ship just as many now.

For a small fish factory in the village, $200,000 to charter a ship is a lot of money, and we could have spent it on our development, he says.

Halifish from Ilulissat Fjord is sold at Rodebay Fish for 31 kroner per kilo, while halibut from Torsukattak is sold for 32 kroner per kilo.

One of the reasons for the increased demand, says the director, is that it is possible to purchase halibut at any time of the day.

The freezer is being filled up again

Knud Fleischer expects that the fish factory's freezer will soon be full again. But according to RAL's sailing schedule, the ship will not arrive in the Oqaatsut settlements until May 16.

- If RAL cannot get to Oqaatsut now, we will have to close the fish factory until May.

Of course, that is not what we want, and in order to keep production running without interruption and to have people employed all year round, we need ships to call at us when possible.

- Therefore, it is necessary for RAL's ships to sail to the settlements as the sea ice is reduced, but we have to live with the current transport conditions. This is of course a pity, says the factory manager.

RAL is 100 percent publicly owned, and the owners should consider planning their transport in light of climate change, says Knud Fleischer.

The director states that Rodebay Fish ApS is now considering doubling its freezing facility in line with the increase in purchases.

Steen Gabrielsen, Naleraq, member of the settlement council in Oqaatsut, supports the idea of ​​organizing the transport system to adapt it to climate change.

Evaluation needed

RAL has ten ships, but some of them need maintenance in the winter, and therefore it is difficult to sail all the way to the settlements without ice, says Niels Clemensen, CEO of RAL.

But he emphasized that the winter ice areas have planned supplies to cover the rest of the year. Therefore, there are no plans to send extra ships out to pick up extra fuel or cargo outside the established schedules, says Niels Clemensen.

- The transport to the settlements is carried out according to a service contract with the government, and we keep a close eye on the ice conditions and can come at any time.

This year the ice is delayed, but we don't know if it will be the case next year, so we have to make an evaluation every year, says the director.

Niels Clemensen says that in addition to the planned voyages, RAL's ships can be chartered if the sea is ice-free or sailing on ice.