TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Montreal-headquartered ship-owning company Fednav on Thursday announced the arrival in Canada of its latest, most-specialised icebreaker, the MV Nunavik.

Built at Japan Marine United (JMU) Corporation’s Tsu shipyard, in Japan, the ship would be used to export the nickel concentrates produced at the Canadian Royalties-owned Nunavik mine, located in northern Quebec’s Deception Bay.

The vessel will also supply the mine with equipment and fuel, year round.

Rated ‘Polar Class 4’, the Nunavik is the most powerful bulk-carrying icebreaker in the world. It is similar in design to the Umiak I, the Fednav ship servicing Vale's Voisey's Bay operation, in Northern Labrador.

The Nunavik would sail unescorted in Arctic regions and will operate in the extreme winter conditions of the Canadian Arctic. It is capable of maintaining continuous progress of 3 knots in 1.5 m of ice.

The vessel was designed by Fednav and JMU, and will sail between Deception Bay and Northern Europe on a year-round basis. The engine produces 29 600 hp, three times the power of a conventional bulk carrier of the same size.

The Nunavik would be supported by Fednav subsidiary Enfotec Technical Services, to provide up to date information on ice conditions as well as technical support to the in-house IceNav navigation system.

The Nunavik is equipped with the latest environmental technologies, such as a Tier II engine that reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by 20% and the first ballast treatment system installed on a Canadian-owned vessel.

"Fednav is particularly proud of the arrival of this new ship. It represents Fednav's commitment to mining development in the Arctic, as well as our dedication to technological development and energy efficiency,” Fednav president and co-CEO Paul Pathy said.

In naming this new ship Nunavik, Fednav said it wanted to recognise the inhabitants and the region in which it will operate, as well as its project partner, Nunavik Nickel.

Fednav already owns and operates two of the world's most powerful ice-breaking commercial vessels, the MV Arctic and the MV Umiak I.

Canadian Royalties' main mining operations are in the Nunavik region, where it owns and operates the Nunavik nickel project, a group of polymetallic mines feeding a central processing facility, which produces nickel and copper concentrates with significant platinum-group element by-products.