New diesel-electric laker marks another CSL first

Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) will soon take delivery of its first state-of-the-art diesel-electric laker. Built in partnership with Windsor Salt (a Green Marine partner), the new vessel called Nukumi is the first single-point loader in Canada. It was designed with a single hopper to deliver de-icing salt from the Mines Seleine salt mines on the Magdalen Islands to Montreal, Quebec City and elsewhere in the provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.

With the salt trade operating in the sensitive marine environment off the Magdalen Islands, the idea was to provide a safe, reliable and more sustainable long-term shipping solution. The Nukumi features innovations that lead the way to a new generation of sustainable and efficient shipping in the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes region.

The Nukumi is equipped with Tier III diesel-electric engines, a unique hull design and propulsion that will enhance its maneuverability in the shallow waters off the Magdalen Islands. The vessel is expected to emit 25% less greenhouse gas emissions and 80% less air pollutants than its predecessors.  It is also has quieter machinery to reduce underwater noise that can be harmful to North Atlantic right whales and other marine life in the region.

CSL and Windsor Salt initiated the vessel’s construction of the vessel in August 2020, and they expect the Nukumi to make its first salt voyages as early as this April. The name Nukumi was suggested by a Windsor Salt employee as part of a company-wide contest. Pronounced “noo-goo-mee,” it refers to a legendary wise figure within the Indigenous Mi’kmaq culture that deep roots in the Maritime provinces.