Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) has taken delivery of M/V Nukumi, a new purpose-designed self-unloader built to service Windsor Salt. She began her maiden voyage to the Great Lakes/ Seaway system Jan. 31.

With a deadweight of 26,000 metric tons, the cutting-edge vessel will be the first diesel-electric laker and the first single-point loader to operate in Canada. The vessel features a single point loading system and a shuttle boom. She brings a long-term, safe, sustainable, efficient and reliable shipping solution to the Magdalen Islands region, where the ship will load deicing salt at Windsor Salts Mines Seleine mine and deliver it to stockpiles throughout Eastern Canada to help keep roadways safe during the winter season.

Sailing from Jiangyin, China to Halifax, Canada, Nukumi is expected to arrive in mid-March.

Safe, Sustainable Solutions

Innovations made to the ships design to enhance sustainability and reduce the environmental footprint of the ship include:

• Diesel-electric tier 3 engines and a unique hull design that will contribute to cutting CO2 emissions and improve energy efficiency,
• A fixed, single-point loading system with a single hopper into which the salt is loaded, combined with a cargo handling system that eliminates the need for the vessel to shift during loading, which will improve the efficiency of cargo operations and the safety of ship and shore personnel,
• A modern hull design and state-of- the-art propulsion system to enhance the maneuverability of the vessel and increase the safety of navigation in the shallow Magdalen Island channel,
• A ballast water treatment system that is expected to reduce the transfer of invasive species and
• Quieter machinery that will reduce vessel noise to protect the areas North Atlantic Right Whales and other marine mammals.

Compared to the previous vessel servicing the same salt routes, the new ship is expected to emit about 25% less greenhouse gas emissions and 80% fewer air pollutants.

The contract for the long-term charter was signed in 2019. CSL owns the ship and is responsible for its operations. Windsor Salt makes all decisions regard- ing where and when the ship sails.

Nukumi, pronounced Noo-goo-mee, refers to the legendary wise figure of the Indigenous Mikmaq people, a culture with deep roots in Canadian Maritime Provinces.