Arctic Umiaq Line A/S (AUL) or Arctic Umiaq is a

passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. Th ...

and

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...

shipping line in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

. Its name derives from the

Kalaallisut Kalaallisut may refer to: * Greenlandic language * West Greenlandic West Greenlandic ( da, vestgrønlandsk), also known as Kalaallisut, is the primary language of Greenland and constitutes the Greenlandic language, spoken by the vast majority of ...

word for the traditional

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territorie ...

passenger boat, the

umiak The umiak, umialak, umiaq, umiac, oomiac, oomiak, ongiuk, or anyak is a type of open skin boat, used by both Yupik and Inuit, and was originally found in all coastal areas from Siberia to Greenland. First arising in Thule times, it has tradition ...

, distinguished from the

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...

, used for hunting. The sea connection provided by Arctic Umiaq is a lifeline for the entire western and southwestern Greenland. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the

Royal Arctic Line Royal Arctic Line A/S (RAL) or Royal Arctic is a seaborne freight company in Greenland, wholly owned by the Government of Greenland. It was formed in 1993, and is headquartered in Nuuk. History Royal Arctic Line A/S was spun off as a company se ...

History

Arctic Umiaq Line was founded in 2006. Like many Greenlandic companies, it can trace its operations to former divisions of the

Royal Greenland Trade Department The Royal Greenland Trading Department ( da, Den Kongelige Grønlandske Handel, KGH) was a Danish state enterprise charged with administering the realm's settlements and trade in Greenland. The company managed the government of Greenland from 177 ...

before its 1986 handover to the Greenland Home Rule Government. Since 2007, Arctic Umiaq Line has been operating at a deficit, with the CEO Søren Grønhøj Andersen sued for mismanagement. The company carried fewer passengers for the first nine months of 2009 than in the comparable period of the previous year. The Greenland Home Rule Government has continued to provide loss guarantees to the joint owners. In fiscal 2011, this amounted to DKK 8.1 million, and Royal Arctic Line announced that loss guarantees have been secured through 2016. Ownership in The Arctic Umiaq Line was shared equally between

Air Greenland Air Greenland A/S (formerly named Grønlandsfly), also known as Greenlandair, is the flag carrier airline of Greenland, owned by the Greenlandic Government. It operates a fleet of 32 aircraft, including 1 airliner used for transatlantic and ch ...

and Royal Arctic Line until 2016. In 2016, Air Greenland sold its 50% stake in the company to Royal Arctic Line, and since July 1, 2016 the Arctic Umiaq Line has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Arctic Line.

Operations

The ferry service operates from late April until early January. , Arctic Umiaq Line employs 43 people, operating one ship on the

Ilulissat Ilulissat, formerly Jakobshavn or Jacobshaven, is the municipal seat and largest town of the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland, located approximately north of the Arctic Circle. With the population of 4,670 as of 2020, it is the thi ...

Narsaq Narsaq is a town in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The name ''Narsaq'' is Kalaallisut for "Plain", referring to the shore of Tunulliarfik Fjord where the town is located. History People have lived in the area for thousands o ...

route along the coast of western and southwestern Greenland.

Ports of call

The ''Sarfaq Ittuk'' stops in the following towns on its coastal journey, with the approximate times for a southbound journey listed for illustration: Until 2008, the service had been extended to

Narsarsuaq Narsarsuaq (lit. ''Great Plan'';''Facts and History of Narsarsuaq'', Narsarsuad Tourist Information old spelling: ''Narssarssuaq'') is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. It had 123 inhabitants in 2020. There is a thri ...

during summer.

Fleet

Current fleet

The only ship in operation is M/S ''Sarfaq Ittuk'' ( IMO 8913899). Built in 1992, it was subsequently renovated and upgraded in 2000 in the

Gdańsk Shipyard The Gdańsk Shipyard ( pl, Stocznia Gdańska, formerly Lenin Shipyard) is a large Polish shipyard, located in the city of Gdańsk. The yard gained international fame when Solidarity () was founded there in September 1980. It is situated on the w ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. The ship has a 249-passenger capacity, with 52 2-bed cabins, and 145 communal (compartment or couchette) rollout beds on the two lower decks. It has a length (overall) of 72.8 m, a Gross tonnage of 2118 t, and freight capacity ( Deadweight) of 163 t.

Former fleet

M/S ''Sarpik Ittuk'' which serviced the

Upernavik Archipelago Upernavik Archipelago is a vast coastal archipelago in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, off the shores of northeastern Baffin Bay. The archipelago extends from the northwestern coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula in the south at ...

, the

Uummannaq Fjord Uummannaq Fjord is a large fjord system in the northern part of western Greenland, the largest after Kangertittivaq fjord in eastern Greenland. It has a roughly south-east to west-north-west orientation, emptying into the Baffin Bay in the nor ...

region, and

Disko Bay Disko Bay ( kl, Qeqertarsuup tunua; da, DiskobugtenChristensen, N.O. & al.Elections in Greenland. ''Arctic Circular'', Vol. 4 (1951), pp. 83–85. Op. cit. "Northern News". ''Arctic'', Vol. 5, No. 1 (Mar 1952), pp. 58–59.) is a large ...

was sold in 2006 to Nova Cruising, a company from the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the a ...

. As of 2010 Disko Bay is served by

Diskoline Disko Line A/S is a passenger and freight ferry line in western Greenland. It was founded in 2004DiskolineAbout/ref> as a small freight company. Complementary transport services Diskoline provides sea transport services on contract with the ...

on the governmental contract, whereas transport services between

and the

region are provided by infrequent cargo/ferry ships of Royal Arctic Line.

Photographs

File:Arctic-umiaq-sarfak-ittuk-arsuk.jpg, Sarfaq Ittuk navigating between icebergs south of Arsuk, in the vicinity of Alaanorssuaq. View from the bow. File:Arctic-umiaq-sarfak-ittuk-qaqortoq.jpg, Sarfaq Ittuk − passenger exchange at Qaqortoq port File:Arctic-umiaq-sarfak-ittuk-ralak-kangaamiut.jpg, Ferry boat deployed from Sarfaq Ittuk at Kangaamiut. The settlement does not have an adequate port due to constrained waterways; the passengers are ferried back and forth instead. File:Arctic-umiaq-sarfak-ittuk-narsaq.jpg, Sarfaq Ittuk moored at Narsaq port

References

{{Companies of Greenland Shipping companies of Greenland Companies based in Nuuk Transport in Nuuk